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diff --git a/43630.txt b/43630.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 58ef998..0000000 --- a/43630.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,6336 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook, Pagan Origin of Partialist Doctrines, by John -Claudius Pitrat - - -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: Pagan Origin of Partialist Doctrines - - -Author: John Claudius Pitrat - - - -Release Date: September 3, 2013 [eBook #43630] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII) - - -***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PAGAN ORIGIN OF PARTIALIST -DOCTRINES*** - - -E-text prepared by Carlos Colon, Princeton Theological Seminary Library, -and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from -page images generously made available by Internet Archive -(http://archive.org) - - - -Note: Images of the original pages are available through - Internet Archive. See - http://archive.org/details/paganoriginofp00pitr - - -Transcriber's note: - - Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_). - - Greek characters have been transliterated to English - characters. The transliterations are denoted by [Greek: - - - - - -PAGAN ORIGIN OF PARTIALIST DOCTRINES. - -by - -REV. JOHN CLAUDIUS PITRAT, - -A Member of the University of France; Author of "Jesuits -Unveiled," of "Paul and Julia," etc., and -Formerly a Romish Priest. - - - - - - - -Published by the Author. - -Cincinnati: -Longley Brothers, Printers, -168 Vine St., Above Fourth. -1857. - -Entered according to act of Congress, in the year 1857, by -John Claudius Pitrat, -In the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Southern District -of Ohio. - - - - -TO BROTHER JOHN A. GURLEY. - - -_Dear Friend Gurley_,--To you, who have fed me when I was starving, -sheltered me when I was a homeless exile, and befriended me when I was -forlorn, and my life was sought by my persecutors, this volume I -inscribe, as a feeble token of my lasting gratitude and friendship. - - J. C. PITRAT. - - - - -PREFACE. - - -Two arguments can be brought forth to prove that the Partialist -doctrines are not taught in the Scriptures: the one is drawn from the -Scriptures themselves, and the other is drawn from history. - -The first argument, drawn from the Scriptures, is this: - -The Partialist doctrines are not taught in the Scriptures, if it can be -proved by the Scriptures themselves that the Partialist doctrines are -not contained therein. But it can be proved by the Scriptures themselves -that the Partialist doctrines are not contained therein. Then the -Partialist doctrines are not taught in the Scriptures. - -The second argument, drawn from history, is this: - -The Partialist doctrines are not taught in the Scriptures, if it can be -proved by history, that the origin of the Partialist doctrines is Pagan. -But it can be proved by history that the origin of the Partialist -doctrines is Pagan. Then the Partialist doctrines are not taught in the -Scriptures. - -These two arguments, as he who reflects can easily perceive, not only -corroborate each other, but their respective proving force is such, -that, if considered separately, each one is sufficient to peremptorily -prove that the Partialist doctrines are not taught in the Scriptures. -The former, till now, we Universalists have exclusively used, and it -has been efficacious in causing the scales of early and strong -prejudices to fall from the eyes of thousands. However, it is -unfortunately a fact, confirmed by daily experience, that the -conclusions arrived at through scriptural controversies are striking -only to minds of a particular bent and culture. On the contrary, the -conclusions arrived at through historical facts present themselves to -the mind of _all_, clear, vivid and irresistible. It is for this reason -that the author, in this book, presents to the consideration of the -Universalist denomination, and of the public in general, the second -argument, drawn from history. The vast number of historical facts, of -quotations, extracts, etc., contained in this volume, have been -translated from many languages, with as much accuracy as possible. - -May God bless this work, intended to confirm the Universalists in their -beloved faith; and also to break the chain of prejudice which keeps -millions of men in ignorance, in superstition, in perpetual fear, and -thereby in spiritual bondage: "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth -shall make you free." - - THE AUTHOR. - - - - -CONTENTS. - - DEDICATION. iii - - PREFACE. v - - CHAPTER I. - - TRUE SPIRIT OF PAGAN RELIGIONS. 9 - - CHAPTER II. - - PAGAN ORIGIN OF MYSTERIES. 28 - - CHAPTER III. - - PAGAN ORIGIN OF THE DOCTRINE OF A PERSONAL DEVIL. 58 - - CHAPTER IV. - - PAGAN ORIGIN OF THE DOCTRINE OF ORIGINAL SIN. 68 - - CHAPTER V. - - PAGAN ORIGIN OF THE DOCTRINE OF TRINITY. 80 - - CHAPTER VI. - - PAGAN ORIGIN OF THE DOCTRINE OF THE SUPREME DIVINITY OF - JESUS CHRIST. 87 - - CHAPTER VII. - - PAGAN ORIGIN OF THE DOCTRINE OF ENDLESS HELL. 111 - - ARTICLE I.--Metempsychosis or Transmigration of the Souls. 111 - - ARTICLE II.--Tartarus. 129 - - ARTICLE III.--Did the Christians of the First Centuries - believe in Endless Hell. 136 - - ARTICLE IV.--How the Church of Rome borrowed the doctrine - of Endless Hell from the Pagans; and how, afterwards, the - self-called Orthodox Protestant Churches borrowed it from - the Church of Rome. 170 - - CHAPTER VIII. - - PAGAN ORIGIN OF THE DOCTRINE OF A FIRST JUDGMENT, BY JESUS - CHRIST, IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE SEPARATION OF THE SOUL FROM - THE BODY. 182 - - CHAPTER IX. - - PAGAN ORIGIN OF THE DOCTRINE OF THE RESURRECTION OF THE - BODY. 190 - - CHAPTER X. - - PAGAN ORIGIN OF THE DOCTRINE OF A GENERAL JUDGMENT AT - THE END OF THE WORLD. 205 - - CHAPTER XI. - - PAGAN ORIGIN OF THE DOCTRINE OF VICARIOUS ATONEMENT. 229 - - VALEDICTORY. 246 - - - - - PAGAN ORIGIN - OF - PARTIALIST DOCTRINES. - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -TRUE SPIRIT OF PAGAN RELIGIONS. - - -IT seems to be an undeniable fact, that, before the coming of Jesus -Christ, nations had immemorially and universally believed, that the -universe, or nature, was an uncreated but animated being, whose vast -body comprised the earth, the sun, the planets and the stars, to which -one great soul impressed motion and life. Also they believed that all -those principal parts, or, in other words, principal members of the body -of the universe, were animated by emanations or irradiations of the -great soul of the universe, or nature. This Pantheistic doctrine we find -recorded by the Chaldean Zoroaster, in his Zend-Avesta; by the -Phoenician Sanchoniaton in his Mythological History; by the author of -the Indian Vedam; and by the Chinese Confucius, in his Theology. Weighty -is the testimony of those authors, who lived, Confucius perhaps -excepted, at about the time of Moses. Also, the above doctrine they -themselves believed and taught. More, we find the same testimony, the -same doctrine, and the same teaching, in nearly all the works of the -celebrated poets, orators and philosophers of posterior ages. - -Pliny, the historian and naturalist, writes: "The world, or what we call -the heaven, which, in its vast embrace, encircles all beings, is a God -eternal, immense, uncreated and immortal. To seek any thing beyond it is -beyond man's reach, and is vain labor. Behold, the universe is the Being -truly sacred, the Being eternal, immense, comprising all in himself: he -is all in all, or rather he is himself all. He is the work of nature, -and nature itself." - -We read in the sixth book of Eneida, by Virgil: "Know, O my son! that -the heavens and the earth, the deep, the bright globe of the moon, and -all stars are moved by a principle of inly life, which perpetuates its -existence; that it is a great intelligent soul, extending to all the -parts of the vast body of the universe; and which, connected with all, -impresses to all an eternal movement. This soul is the source of the -life of man, of that of flocks, birds, and of all the monsters of the -deep. The bright force that animates them emanates from that eternal -fire that shines in the sky, and which, a captive in the gross matter of -bodies, develops itself only as permitted by the divers mortal -organizations that blunt its force and activity. At the death of each -animal those germs of particular life return to their source, and to the -principle of life that circulates in the starry sphere." - -This belief led men to the worship of the universe, or nature, and -became the basis of their mythology. They adored the vast body of -nature, and its great soul, under the name of Supreme Being, of Jupiter, -of Vichnou, of Pan, etc. They adored the earth, the sun, the planets and -the stars under other names. They erected temples, altars, statues and -chapels to those deities, and worshiped them--not the wood, stone, or -marble, as they are unjustly accused of, but the emanations of the great -soul of the universe, which animated all those principal members of the -vast body of nature, whose might and influence impressed them with -wonder, terror or gratitude, and thus attracted their adoration. - -The Chinese adored the heavens under the name of great Tien. The Supreme -Being in the Chou-King is designated by the name of Tien, which means -from heaven, and of Chang-Tien, supreme heaven. They had reared temples -to the sun, to the moon, and to the stars; and also one to the great -being formed of the sky, of the earth and of the elements,--being which -is the universe named by them Tay-ki. They worshiped the heavens at the -time of the two solstices. The Japanese adored the stars and planets -which they supposed to be animated by geniuses or gods. They had a -temple dedicated to the splendor of the sun. They celebrated the feast -of the moon on the 7th of September, and spent the whole night in -rejoicing by her light. The Chinese and the Japanese practice the same -worship even in our days. - -The Egyptians adored the sun under the name of Osiris, and the moon -under the name of Iris. To them both they ascribed the government of the -world. They built, to honor Osiris, the City of the Sun, or Heliopolis, -and also a splendid temple in which they placed his statue. They -worshiped all the stars and planets which compose the Zodiac. The -animals consecrated in the Egyptian temples, and religiously revered, -represented the various functions of the supreme cause; and they -referred to the sky, to the sun, to the moon, and to the constellations. - -The Phoenicians worshiped the moon and the stars. They adored the sun -under the name of Hercules. The Ethiopians adored the sun and the moon; -and Diodorus informs us, that those of their tribes who inhabited the -country above Meroe adored the sun, the moon, and the universe. They -called themselves the sons of the sun: Persina was the priestess of the -moon, and the king, her husband, was the priest of the sun. All the -Africans who were settled along the coast of Angola, and of Congo, -worshiped the sun and the moon; so the inhabitants of the island of -Teneriffe did. The oldest worship of the Arabs was Sabism, the religion -universally spread in the Orient: the heaven and the stars were objects -of veneration. The moon was more especially adored. The Saracens called -her Cabar, which means great: even now-a-days her crescent adorns the -religious monuments of the Turks. Among the Arabs each tribe was under -the invocation or patronage of a star. - -The Sabism was also the religion of the ancient Chaldeans. Even now -there is at Helle, on the ruins of Babylon, a mosque named Meshed -Eschams, or Mosque of the Sun. In this city was the temple of Belus, or -of the sun, the great deity of the Babylonians. To this same god the -Persians reared temples and consecrated images, under the name of -Mithra. They also honored the heaven under the name of Jupiter, the moon -and Venus, the fire, the earth, the air or wind, and water. The fire -ether that circulates in the whole universe, and of which the sun is the -main force, was represented in the Pyrees by the sacred fire kept -incessantly burning by the wizards, or priests. At Tymbree, in Troades, -the sun was adored under the name of Apollo. The island of Rhodes was -consecrated to the sun, to whom the colossal statue, known under the -name of the Colossus of Rhodes, was erected. The Massagetes, the -Abasges, the Derbises, the Tartars, the Moscanians, the Tchouvaches, the -Toungouses, the Huns, all the Scytic nations, the Iberians, the -Albanians, the Colchidians, the Phrygians, and the Laodiceans, worshiped -the earth, the sun, the moon, and the stars, under various emblems. - -Plato informs us that the ancient Greeks had no other gods than the sun, -the moon, the earth, the stars, water, and fire. Orpheus considered the -sun as the greatest of the gods, and adored him upon mounts at his -rise. Epicharmis, disciple of Pythagoras, called gods the sun, the moon, -the stars, the earth, water and fire. Agamemnon, in Homer, sacrificed to -the sun and to the earth. The choir, in the Oedipus of Sophocles, -invokes the sun as being the first among the gods, and their chief. The -earth was worshiped in the island of Cos. Also the earth had a temple at -Athens and at Sparta; and an altar and oracle at Olympia. - -When we read Pausanias, who has described Greece and her religious -monuments, we find everywhere traces of the worship of nature. We see -temples, altars, and statues, consecrated to the sun, to the moon, to -the earth, to the Pleiades, to the celestial auriga, to the goat, to the -bear, or Calisto, to the night, to rivers, etc. The inhabitants of -Megalopolis sacrificed to the wind Boreas, and had planted a grove in -his honor. The Macedonians adored Estia, or fire, and prayed to Bedy, or -water. Alexander, king of Macedonia, sacrificed to the sun, to the moon, -and to the earth. The oracle of Dodone, in all its answers, ordered -sacrifices to the Achelous river. Homer gave the epithet of sacred to -the waters of the Alpheus. Nestor and the Pylians sacrificed a bull to -the same river. Achilles let his hair grow in honor of Sphercius; he -also invoked the wind Boreas and the Zephyrus. - -Rivers were reputed as being sacred and divine, because of their utility -to vegetation, to animals, and to commerce; and because nations -considered water as one of the first principles of nature, and one of -the most efficacious agents of the universal life of the Great-Being in -which they believed. In Thessalia a sacred crow was fed in honor of the -sun. This bird is seen yet on the monuments of Mithra, in Persia. The -temples of old Byzantium were consecrated to the sun, to the moon, and -to Venus. Their idols represented them; also the star Arcture, and the -twelve signs of the Zodiac. Rome and Italy had also a vast number of -monuments of worship addressed to nature, and to its principal agents. -Tatius, coming to Rome to share the sceptre of Romulus, erected altars -and temples to the sun, to the moon, to Saturn, to light, and to fire. -The undying fire, or Vesta, was the most ancient object of worship of -the Romans; virgins had the care to perpetuate it in the temple of this -Goddess, as the wizards did in their Pyrees. "It was," Jornandes said, -"an image of the eternal lights which shine in the heavens." - -In Rome there was a famous temple called Tellus, or of the earth, in -which the senate often met. The earth was called mother, because it was -considered as a deity as well as the manes. There was in the Latium a -fountain of the sun, and, near it, two altars upon which Aeneas, when -landing in Italy, sacrificed. Romulus established the games of the -circus to honor both the sun, who in his course measures the year, and -the four elements which he modifies by his mighty influence. Aurelian -built at Rome the temple of the sun, and decked it with gold and -precious stones. Augustus, before Aurelian, had ordered the images of -the sun and of the moon to be brought from Egypt, in order to adorn his -triumph over Anthony and Cleopatra. The moon had a temple on the mount -Aventine. - -In Sicily oxen were consecrated to the sun; and the island itself was -called the Island of the Sun. The oxen which the companions of Ulysse -ate when they landed, were consecrated to this god. The citizens of -Assora adored the Chrysas river, that bathed their walls. At Enguyum the -people revered the mother-goddesses, the same deities honored in Crete; -namely, the major and minor Ursas. In Spain the people of Betic had -built a temple to the morning star. The Accitans had erected to the god -Sun, under the name of Mars, a statue whose head imitated the rays of -the sun. At Cadix the sun was also adored, under the name of Hercules. -All the nations of northern Europe, called Celtes, worshiped fire, -water, the air, the sun, the moon, the stars, the trees, and the -springs. The conqueror of Gaul, Caesar, writes that the Germans -immemorially adored the visible cause, and its principal agents, the -sun, the moon, fire or Vulcain, and the earth, under the name of Herta. -Near Narbonne, a city of Gaul, a temple was dedicated to the wind -Circius which purified the atmosphere. At Toulouse there was a temple -of the sun. The Franks professed the same religion. - -In America the Incas of Peru called themselves the sons of the sun: they -dedicated temples and altars to this god, and had instituted feasts in -his honor. The moon was associated to his worship, and was considered as -the mother of all the sublunar productions; and as the spouse and sister -of the sun. In Peru, the star Venus was adored, and also the meteors, -the thunder, and Iris, or rainbow. Virgins had the care of keeping alive -the perpetual fire. In Mexico the same religion existed. The inhabitants -of the Isthmus of Panama, of Brazil, of Florida; the Indians of the -coast of Cumana, the Floridians, Virginians, and the Canadians believed -that there was a god in the heavens, and that this god was the sun, the -spouse of the moon. They worshiped them as the two supreme causes which -ruled the world. - -The above historical facts lead us to the conclusion that the adoration -of the vast body of nature, together with the great soul which was -supposed to animate it; and of its principal parts or members, together -with the multifarious emanations of the great soul, which was supposed -to animate them, was the former and universal religion of mankind, -before the coming of Jesus Christ. Therefore the heathens did not -worship the idols themselves, to which they had given such and such -forms to represent the objects of their adorations; but they worshiped -what in their mind they represented, the universe taken collectively, -as in the idol of Pan; and the universe taken separately; namely, the -important parts of the universe, as in their innumerable idols of the -planets, stars, rivers, etc. - -As we wish to leave no doubt in the minds of the reader in regard to the -certainty of these two great facts, which are a key to the origin of the -dogma of endless misery, and of others which we are to trace out, we -will bring forth other proofs from the religious and political monuments -of ancient peoples; from their celebrations, and from the opinions of -their philosophers. - -The famous labyrinth of Egypt was dedicated to the sun. It formed twelve -palaces, representing the twelve signs of the Zodiac. There were in -Heliopolis, or City of the Sun, twelve columns adorned with symbols -relating to the elements, and to the twelve signs. These gigantic piles -had a pyramidal shape to better represent the rays of the sun, and the -form of his rising blaze. The statue of Apollo Agyeus was pyramidal. In -Egypt, artists were not entrusted with determining the form of the -images and statues of the gods. It was one of the prerogatives of the -Hierophants, or priests, who were more familiar with astronomy. This -fact explains why the number seven, which represented the number of -planets, and the number twelve, which represented the number of the -signs, were sacred numbers, and were reproduced under all kinds of -forms. So the twelve altars of Janus; the twelve works of Hercules or -sun; the twelve shields of Mars; the twelve brothers Arvaux; the twelve -gods Consentes; the twelve rays of light; the twelve governors in the -Manichean system; the twelve adeetyas of the Indians; the twelve azes of -the Scandinaves; the twelve wards of the city planned by Plato; the four -tribes of Athens subdivided into three _frateries_ according to Cecrops' -division; the twelve cushions on which the creator sits, in the theogony -of the Japanese; the twelve cantons of the Etruse league, and their -twelve Lucumons, or chiefs of cantons; the confederation of the twelve -cities of Ionia, and that of the twelve cities of Eolia; the twelve -Tcheou into which Chun divided China; the twelve countries into which -the Coreans divided the world; the twelve officers chosen to draw the -coffin at the funeral of the King of Tunquin; the twelve horses; the -twelve elephants, etc., used in that ceremony. - -It was the same with the number seven representing the planets. So the -seven divisions of the city of Ecbatane; the seven gates of the cavern -of Mithra, or sun; the seven floors of the tower of Babylon, with -another representing the heaven, and also the temple of Jupiter; the -seven gates of the city of Thebes, called each one by the name of a -planet; the seven piped flute placed in the hands of the god Pan who -represented the universe; the seven stringed lyre of Apollo, or sun; -the book of fate composed of seven memorandums; the seven prophetic -rings of the Brachmanes, on which the name of a planet was engraved; the -seven stones dedicated to planets in Laconia; the immemorial division -into seven tribes adopted by the Egyptians and the Indians; the seven -idols pompously carried every year by the Bonzes into seven different -temples; the seven mystical vowels which formed the sacred formula in -the temples of the planets; the seven Pyrees or altars of the monument -of Mithra; the seven Amshaspands, or great geniuses, invoked by the -Persians; the seven Archangels of the Chaldeans; the seven sounding -towers of old Byzantium; the week in all nations, or the period of seven -days consecrated each one to a planet, as can be illustrated. For -instance, in French, Monday is called Lundi, which is derived from the -latin Luna, meaning moon. Tuesday is called Mardi, meaning Mars. -Wednesday is called Mercredi, meaning Mercury. Thursday is called Jeudi, -meaning Jupiter. Friday is called Vendredi, meaning Venus. Saturday is -called Samedi, meaning Saturn. It could also be illustrated by other -languages derived from the Latin. - -The number three hundred and sixty, which is that of the days of the -year, not comprising, however, the epagomenes or complementary days, was -also retraced by the three hundred and sixty days comprised in the -theology of Orpheus; by the three hundred and sixty cups of the water of -the Nile, of which one was poured every day, by the Egyptian priests, -in a sacred cask, in the city of Achante; by the three hundred and sixty -Eons, or geniuses of the Gnostics; by the three hundred and sixty idols -placed in the palace of the Dairi in Japan; by the three hundred and -sixty saints, or geniuses, who, the Papists believe, preside to each day -of the year, (as seen in their almanacs,) dogma borrowed from the -heathens; by the three hundred and sixty minor statues which surrounded -that of Hebal, or the god sun, Belus, adored by the ancient Arabs; by -the three hundred and sixty chapels built around the mosque of Balk, -erected by the care of the chief of the family of the Barmecides; by the -three hundred and sixty temples built on the mountain Louham, in China; -by the wall of three hundred and sixty stadiums with which Semiramis -encompassed the city of Belus, or of the sun, the famous Babylon. In -fine, the division of the Zodiac into twenty-seven parts, which express -the stations of the moon, and into thirty-six which is that of the -_decans_, was also the object of the political and religious -distributions. - -Not only the divisions of the heaven, but the constellations themselves -were represented in the temples, and their images consecrated among the -religious monuments, and on the medals of the cities. The bright star -Capella, in the constellation Auriga, had a statue of brass gilt in the -city of the Phliassians. To the constellation Auriga statues and other -monuments had been erected in Greece under the names of Myrtile, of -Hippolyte, of Spheroeus, of Cillas, of Erectee, etc. There were seen, -also, the statues and tombs of the Atlantides. Near Argos was seen a -mound, which was said to cover the head of the famous Medusa, whose type -is in the heaven, under the feet of Perseus. The moon, or Diana of -Ephesus, was adorned with the figure of the Cancer, which is one of the -twelve signs, and the mansion of this planet. The Ursa, adored under the -name of Calisto, and the Bootes, under that of Arcas, had their tombs on -Arcadia, near the altars of the sun. To the same Bootes a statue was -erected at Byzantium, and also to Orion, the famous Nembrod of the -Assyrians. - -The Syrians had consecrated in their temples the images of Pisces, -(fishes,) one of the signs. The constellations Nesra, or Eagle, Aiyuk, -or Goat, Yagutho, or Pleiades, and Suwaha, or Alhouwoa, and the -Serpentarius were objects of idolatry among the ancient Sabians. These -names are found even now in Hyde's commentary on Ulug-Beigh. Lucian -writes that the whole religious system of the Egyptians was taken from -the heaven. The most of the cities were founded and built under the -inspection and protection of one of the signs of the Zodiac. Their -horoscope was drawn; hence the images of stars on their medals. The -medals of Antioch represent the Ram, (Aries) with the crescent of the -moon; those of the Mamertines the image of the Bull, (Taurus); those of -the kings of Comargene, the image of the Scorpion; and those of Zeugma -and of Anazarba, the image of the Goat, (Capricornus). Nearly all the -signs are found on the medals of the Antonines. The star Hesperus was on -the national seal of the Locrians, of the Ozoles, and of the Opuntians. - -Likewise we shall remark that the ancient feasts, or celebrations, were -connected with the principal epochs of nature, and with the heavenly -system. Everywhere the solsticial and equinoxial celebrations are found; -even in our days the Catholics celebrate the beginning of each season of -the year by fasting and abstaining from meat. Fohi, one of the most -ancient emperors of China, ordered sacrifices to be offered to the gods -at the commencement of each season. Four pavilions were erected to the -moons of the four seasons. The ancient Chinese, Confucius says, -established a sacrifice in honor of Chang-Ty, at the winter solstice, -and one in the spring. The emperor alone has the privilege to preside at -these two ceremonies, as being the son of heaven. The Greeks and the -Romans did the same for like reasons. - -The Persians have their Neurouz, or feast of the sun, when this king of -the day passes under the Ram, or under the sign of the equinox of the -spring. It is even now one of the greatest festivities in Persia. At the -winter's solstice the ancient Egyptians led the sacred cow seven times -around the temple; and at the equinox of the spring they solemnly -celebrated the coming of the sun to once more vivify nature. The -celebration of the triumph of fire and light took place in the city of -the sun, in Assyria, and was called the celebration of wood-piles. The -Catholic Church has borrowed this celebration from the heathen, and has -fixed it on the Saturday before Easter. - -The feasts celebrated by the Sabians to honor the planets, were fixed -under the sign of their exaltation; sometimes under that of their -mansion; so the feast of Saturn was celebrated by the Romans in -December, under the Capricornus (Goat), mansion of this planet. All the -celebrations of the old calendar of the Pontiffs were connected with the -rise or setting of some constellation or star, as can be ascertained by -reading the _Fastes_ of Ovide. The religious genius of the Romans, and -the relations of their celebrations with nature, are more especially -seen in the games of the circus. The sun, the moon, the planets, the -elements, the universe and its principal parts, were represented with -emblems analagous to their nature. In the Hippodrome the sun was seen -with steeds which imitated its course in the heavens. - -The fields of Olympia were represented by a vast arena consecrated to -the sun. In the middle there was a temple of this god, crowned with his -image. The limits of the course of the sun, the Orient and the Occident, -were traced, and marked by limits placed at the extremities of the -circus. The races took place from the east to the west seven times, -because of the seven planets. The sun, the moon, Jupiter and Venus, had -each one a chariot. The Aurigae or drivers, wore garments representing -the colors of the elements. The chariot of the sun was drawn by four -steeds, and that of the moon by two. The Zodiac was represented in the -circus by twelve gates; and also the revolution of the major and minor -Ursas. The sea, or Neptune, the earth, or Ceres, and the other elements, -were personified in actors who contended for the prize. - -The phases of the moon were also celebrated, and particularly the -neomeny or new-moon; for temples images and mysteries had been dedicated -to the god Month, or Mensis. All the ceremonial of the procession of -Isis, described in Apuleo, refers to nature and its parts. The sacred -hymns of the ancients had the same object, if we may judge of them by -those of Orpheus. Chun, one of the most ancient emperors of China, -ordered many hymns to be composed to honor the sun, the moon, the stars, -etc. All the prayers contained in the books Zends had the same objects. -The poetical chants of ancient authors, who have transmitted to us the -theogonies of Orpheus, of Linus, of Hesiod, etc., relate to nature and -its agents. Hesiod thus addresses the Muses: "Sing the gods immortal, -sons of the earth and of the starry sky; gods born from the bosom of -night, and nursed by the Ocean; the bright stars, the immense vault of -the firmament, and the gods sprung from them; the sea, the rivers, etc." - -The songs of Iopas, in the banquet offered by Dido to the Trojans, -contain the lessons of the learned Atlas about the course of the sun and -of the moon; about the origin of men, of animals, etc. In the Pastorals -of Virgil, the old Silene sings the chaos and the organization of the -world. Orpheus does the same in the Argonautics of Apollonius. The -cosmogony of Sanchoniaton, or of the Phoenicians, conceals under the -veil of allegories the great secrets of nature which were taught to -those initiated. The philosophers who succeeded to the poets called all -the parts of the universe divine. In the opinion of Pythagoras the -celestial bodies were immortal and divine. The sun, the moon, and all -the stars superabundantly contained heat, or principle of life. He -placed the substance of the deity in the ethereal fire, of which the -sun, he said, was the main focus. - -Parmenides imagined a halo around the world, and called it the substance -of the deity; the stars partook of the nature thereof. Alimeon of -Crotona taught that the sun, the moon, and the stars were the gods. -Antisthenes acknowledged but one deity, nature. Plato attributed -divinity to the world, to the sky, to the stars, and to the earth. -Xenocrates and Heraclides admitted eight great gods, the seven planets -and the heaven of the fixed stars. Theophrastes called the stars and the -celestial signs first causes. Zenon said that the ether, the stars, time -and its parts were gods. Cleanthes admitted the dogma of the divinity of -the universe, and more especially of the ethereal fire that envelops -the spheres, and penetrates them. Diogene, the Babylonian, related the -whole mythology to nature. Chrysippus held that the world was God. He -placed the divine substance in the ethereal fire, in the sun, in the -moon, in the stars, in one word, in nature and its principal parts. -Anaximandre, Anaximenes and Zenon had the same belief. - -From this exposition of the religious and political monuments of ancient -peoples, of their celebrations, and of the opinions of their -philosophers; and also of the historical facts brought forth before, we -draw these two logical and vital conclusions:-- - -1st. Therefore the adoration of the vast body of nature, together with -the great soul which was supposed to animate it; and of its principal -parts and members, together with the multifarious emanations of the -great soul which was supposed to animate them, was the former and -universal religion of mankind (excepting the Hebrews) before the coming -of Jesus Christ. - -2d. Therefore the heathens did not worship the idols themselves, to -which they had given such and such forms to represent the objects of -their adorations, but they worshiped what in their mind they -represented, the universe taken collectively, as in the idol of Pan; and -the universe taken separately, namely, the important parts of the -universe, as in their innumerable idols of the planets, stars, rivers, -etc. - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -PAGAN ORIGIN OF MYSTERIES. - - -WHETHER the word mystery is derived from the Greek _muo_, I close, or -from _mueo_, I teach, is not an important question, for the word mystery -has always implied the double idea of secrecy and of instruction. Kings, -emperors, and even the most liberal of the legislators, seem to have -believed, from the very cradle of nations, that people ought to be -governed with fables, because they are too weak minded, and too ignorant -to understand and bear the truth. Of all the errors which have -enshrouded the human race, none has been more injurious to progress, -virtue, and happiness among men. Even in our days, of all the existing -governments, there is but one, if any at all, which does not place its -strength upon the erroneous basis that the people, being not able to -understand and bear the truth, are more easily ruled by being kept in -their ignorance and superstition. This great error gave birth to -mysteries. - -When men constituted themselves into national bodies, they chose men, -and vested them with the power of administering their interests. Those -men forfeited their mandate, and became the tyrants of their -constituents. In order to secure and perpetuate their sway, they -associated to their personal interests hierophants, priests of all -kinds, astronomers, philosophers, and poets, who composed fables, -intended to have a moral bearing upon the people, and to make their -masses believe them as being the truth. Those fables they called -mysteries. - -Egypt had her initiations, known under the name of mysteries of Osiris -and Isis; from which those of Bacchus and Ceres were mostly copied. When -we compare the courses and adventures of the Ceres of the Greek, with -those of the Egyptian Isis, we can not but see the filiation of these -two fables. The poems whose Bacchus is the hero, and the history of the -Osiris, the ceremonies practiced to honor these two deities, and the -identity of both acknowledged by the ancients, evidently prove that the -mysteries of the latter have given birth to the former. Cybele and Atys -had their initiations, and the Cabires also. - -The Chinese had and still have mysteries on Foe, and Pousa; the Japanese -upon Xaca and Amida; the Siamois on Sommonacodom; the Indians on Brama -and Rudra; the Parsis upon Ormuzd and Ahriman. The Selles studied the -mysterious words of the doves of Dodone; Persia, Ethiopia, Scythia, -Gaul, and Scandinavia, had their caverns, their holy mounts, their -sacred oaks, where the brahmanes, the astrologers, the gymnosophists -and the druids, pronounced the inexplicable oracle of the immortals. The -Mahomedans have mysteries on the miracles of Mahomet. - -We hope to interest and instruct the reader in translating the following -extract from the Voyage of Anacharsis, a reliable work. Anacharsis is -supposed to have traveled in Greece, in the fourth century before the -Christian era. He thus relates the mysteries of Eleusis: - -"I shall speak of the most important point of the religion of the -Athenians, of those mysteries whose origin is lost in the night of ages; -whose ceremonies inspire no less terror than veneration; and whose -secret has never been revealed, except by a few persons who were -immediately devoted to death, and to public execration; for the law not -only pronounces against them the confiscation of their property and the -loss of their life, but it orders that a column be erected, to -perpetuate the rememberance of their crime and of their punishment. - -"Of all the mysteries established in honor of the gods, none were more -celebrated than those of Ceres. This goddess herself, it is said, -regulated them, while she was wandering on the earth for the purpose of -finding Proserpine, ravished by Pluto, she arrived in the plain of -Eleusis. Pleased with the welcome extended to her by the inhabitants, -she presented them with two signaled blessings, agriculture, and -initiation to a sacred doctrine. It is added, that the minor mysteries -which are preparatory to the major, were instituted to the honor of -Hercules. - -"People believe, that, wherever the Athenians established the mysteries -of Eleusis, the spirit of union and humanity became more general; -because they free the soul from ignorance and stains; procure the -particular assistance of the gods; the means of arriving at the -perfection of virtue; the sweets of a holy life; the hope of a peaceable -death, and of an endless bliss. Those initiated will occupy a -distinguished place in the Elysian fields; they will enjoy a pure light, -and they will dwell in the bosom of the Deity; whereas, those who are -profane will dwell hereafter in abodes of darkness and of horror. - -"In order to avoid such an alternative the Greeks flocked from -everywhere to Eleusis to find the promised bliss. Though young, the -Athenians are admitted to the ceremonies of the initiation; and those -who never participated to them ask this favor before they die; the -menaces and the pictures of the sufferings of another life, before -considered as a subject of derision, cause a more vivid impression on -the mind; and then terror generates weakness. However, there are -enlightened men who do not believe that there is any need for them to be -initiated in order to be virtuous. Socrates constantly declined joining -the mysteries; and, one day, Diogenes being solicited, in my presence, -to ask for initiation, answered: 'Pataecion, a famous thief, was -initiated; Epaminondas and Agesilas never asked for it. Can I believe -that the former will go to the Elysian fields and the latter to the -Tartarus.' - -"All the Greeks can aspire to participate to the mysteries: an ancient -law excludes the foreigners. The major mysteries are celebrated every -year on the fifteenth of the month of Boedromion. The celebration of the -minor mysteries is also annual, and takes place six months before. -During the celebration of the major mysteries the tribunals are closed. -The day following, the senate pronounces the penalty of death against -those who have willfully disturbed the ceremonies. This severity is -required to maintain order among the immense multitude of people. In -time of war the Athenians send to their foes safe conducts to induce -them to assist at the celebration. - -"On the fourteenth of Boedromion, in the second year of the one hundred -and ninth Olympiad, I left Athens with several of my friends. The gate -through which the Athenians pass to go to Eleusis is called sacred. The -space between these two cities is of about one hundred stadiums. After -crossing a high hill decked with rosy laurels, we entered the territory -of Eleusis; and we arrived on the banks of two small brooks consecrated, -the one to Ceres, and the other to Proserpine. I mention them because -the priests of the temple are the only ones who are permitted to fish in -them; and because their waters are salted, and are used in the -ceremonies of initiation. Farther, on the bridge of a river named -Cephize, we had to bear the mockeries of a numerous populace, who stand -there to criticize the comers, and more especially the most -distinguished men of the Republic. It is an old tradition that Ceres had -been welcomed on this very spot by an old woman, called Yambe. - -"At a short distance from the sea there is a high and long hill, at the -eastern end of which the famous temple of Ceres and Proserpine has been -reared. Further down is the small city of Eleusis. In the vicinity, and -on the hill itself, there are chapels and altars, and rich -country-seats. The temple, built under the care of Pericles, on the bare -rock, is of pantelic marble; and is turned towards the Orient. It is so -vast as magnificent; its enclosure at the south is of about three -hundred and eighty-four feet, and at the east of three hundred and -twenty-five. The most celebrated artists have adorned this temple with -master-pieces of art. - -"Among the numerous priests who officiate in the temple, there are four -principal. The first is the Hierophant; his name designates the one who -reveals the sacred things, and his main office is to initiate the -postulants to the mysteries. He appears with a distinguished tunic; his -forehead is decked with a diadem, and his hair is floating on his -shoulders. His age must be mature enough to correspond with the gravity -of his ministry, and his voice fine enough to be pleasing to the ears. -His priesthood is for life; and he is obliged to keep celibacy. The -second priest carries the sacred flambeau in the ceremonies, and -purifies the candidates; he has also the privilege of wearing a diadem. -The two others are the sacred herald, and the assistant at the altar. - -"The holiness of their ministry is rendered even more respectable by -their noble birth. The Hierophant is chosen in the family of the -Eumolpides, one of the most ancient of Athens; the sacred herald in that -of the Ceryces, which is a collateral branch of the other; the two other -priests belong also to illustrious families. These four priests have -under their command other ministers, such as the interpreters, the -singers, and other officers, who have the direction of the processions -and other ceremonies. Also there are at Eleusis priestesses consecrated -to Ceres and to Proserpine. They have the privilege of initiating -certain persons on particular days, and to offer sacrifices. - -"The celebrations are presided by the second of the Archontes, whose -duty is to keep order, and to prevent any change or alteration in the -worship. They last several days. Sometimes those initiated interrupt -their sleep to continue their pious exercises: we saw them during the -night crossing the enclosure, walking in silence two by two, and holding -each one a lighted torch. When they reentered the sacred asylum they -hastened their march; and I learned that they were going to figure the -courses of Ceres and of Proserpine; and that, in their rapid evolutions, -they shook their torches, and handed them to each other. The light which -springs out, it is said, has the virtue of purifying the souls, and -becomes the symbol of the light which ought to instruct them. - -"One day games were celebrated in the honor of the two goddesses. Famous -champions had come from various parts of Greece, and the prize was a -measure of barley, raised in the neighboring plain, whose inhabitants -hold from Ceres the art of cultivating this sort of wheat. On the sixth -day, the most brilliant of all, the priests of the temple, and those -initiated, carried from Athens to Eleusis, the statue of Iacchus, said -to be the son of Ceres or of Proserpine. The god, crowned with myrtle, -held a flambeau. About thirty thousand people followed, making the air -resound with the name of Iacchus. The march, led by the sound of -instruments and the singing of hymns, was sometimes suspended to perform -dances and sacrifices. The statue was introduced in the temple of -Eleusis, and then taken back in his own, with the same splendors, and -the same ceremonies. - -"Many of those who composed the procession had been initiated only to -the minor mysteries, annually celebrated in a small temple, situated -near the Illissus. There a priest examines and prepares the candidates; -he excludes them if they are guilty of enormous crimes, and particularly -if they have committed murder, even without purpose. He imposes upon -the others frequent expiations, and teaches them the first rudiments of -the sacred doctrine. This noviciate sometimes lasts several years, but -generally one only. During the time of probation, the candidates assist -at the celebration of the major mysteries; but they remain at the door -of the temple. - -"The initiation to the great mysteries had been appointed for the night -following. One of the preparatory ceremonies was the offering of -sacrifices, for the prosperity of the state, presided by the second of -the Archontes. The novices were crowned with myrtle. Their robes seem to -contract such a holiness that many of them wear them until they are worn -out; others make of them swaddling-clothes for their children, or hang -them in the temple. We saw them enter in the sacred hall; and, on the -next morning, one of my friends, who had been newly initiated, related -to me many of the ceremonies which he had witnessed. - -"He told me, 'We found the ministers of the temple dressed in their -pontifical robes. The Hierophant, who, in that moment, represents the -author of the universe, had symbols which designated the power supreme. -The flambeau-bearer and the assistant to the altar appeared with the -attributes of the sun and of the moon; and the sacred herald with those -of Mercury. We had just taken our seats when the herald exclaimed: 'Away -from here ye profane and impious men, and all those whose souls are -contaminated with crimes!' The penalty of death was decreed against -those who had the temerity of remaining in the temple without being -entitled to it, after this admonition. The second of the priests ordered -that the skins of the victims be spread beneath our feet; and he -purified us anew. The rituals of initiation were loudly read, and hymns -in the honor of Ceres were sung. - -"Soon after a roar was heard. The earth seemed to shake. Amid lightning -and thunder phantoms and spectres were seen roaming in darkness. They -filled the holy hall with soul-rending groans and howlings. Sufferings, -cares, diseases, poverty, and death, under hideous forms, struck our -gaze. The Hierophant explained these various emblems, and his vivid -pictures added to our terror. However, guided by a feeble light, we were -advancing towards the regions of the Tartarus, where the souls get -purified before they reach the abode of bliss. Amidst sorrowful voices -we heard the bitter regrets of those who had committed suicide. They are -punished, the Hierophant said, because they have deserted the posts -assigned to them by the gods. - -"He had scarcely pronounced these words, when brass gates were thrown -open before us with a frightful roar, and then we saw the horrors of the -Tartarus. It resounded with the rattle of chains, and the yells of its -unfortunate inmates. Learn from us, did they say, to respect the gods, -and to be just and grateful. We saw the furies, armed with whips, -unmercifully torturing the criminals. These frightening pictures, made -more so by the sonorous and imposing voice of the Hierophant, who seemed -to exercise the ministry of divine vengeance, filled our soul with -terror. In fine, we were introduced in delightful thickets; in enameled -meadows; fortunate abodes, image of the Elysean fields, where a pure -light shone, where charming voices were heard. We passed into the -sanctuary, where we saw the statue of the goddess resplendent with -brightness, and dressed in the richest attire. In this sanctuary our -trials ended; there our eyes saw, and our ears heard, what we are -forbidden to reveal. I will simply confess that in the delirium of a -holy joy we sung hymns of joy.' - -"Such was the recital of the newly-initiated. Another told me a -circumstance which the other omitted. One day, during the celebrations, -the Hierophant uncovered the mysterious baskets, which are carried in -the procession, and which are the object of the public veneration. They -contained the sacred symbols, whose sight is prohibited to those -uninitiated, and which are but cakes of various forms, grains of salt, -and other objects, which relate to the history of Ceres, and to the -dogmas taught in the mysteries. When those initiated have taken them -from a basket, and put them in another, they say that they have fasted -and drank the Ciceon. - -"I often met with men who were not initiated, and who freely expressed -their opinions about the secret doctrines taught in the mysteries. One -of the disciples of Plato said: 'It seems to be certain that the -Hierophant teaches the necessity of pains and rewards beyond the grave; -and that he represents to the postulants the various destinies of men -here below and hereafter. Also it seems to be certain that he teaches -them, that, among the great number of deities adored by the multitude, -the ones are pure spirits, who, ministers of the will of the god -supreme, regulate under his command the motion of the universe; and the -others have been simple mortals, whose tombs are kept yet in several -parts of Greece. Is it not natural to think, that, in order to give a -more accurate idea of the Deity, the institutors of mysteries endeavored -to maintain, and to thus perpetuate a dogma, whose vestiges are more or -less visible in the opinions, and ceremonies, of nearly all -nations--that of a God, who is the principal and end of all things? Such -is, in my opinion, the august secret revealed to those initiated.' - -"No doubt political ends encouraged the institution of this religious -association. Polytheism was generally spread, and was pleasing the -people, but on account of the multiplicity of the gods it was dangerous -to society. It was thought wiser not to destroy this belief, but to -counterbalance it by a purer religion. As the people are more restrained -by the laws than by abstract principles of morals, the legislators -contrived to harmonize the superstition of the people with purer -religious and moral principles, which they should simultaneously teach. -'Thus,' the disciple of Plato added, 'you understand why the gods are -represented on the theatre of Athens: the magistrates who do not believe -the false doctrines of Polytheism are very careful not to repress a -superstition and a license, which amuse the people, and whose repression -would indispose them. - -"'Also you understand how two religions, though opposed in their dogmas, -conjointly exist in peace and harmony in the same cities. The reason of -it is, that, though their dogmas are different, these religions use the -same language, and that the truth has for the error the same tolerance, -and courtesy, which the truth should obtain from the error. Externally -the mysteries present but the worship adopted by the people. The hymns -sung in public, and the most of the ceremonies retrace to the masses -many circumstances of the rape of Proserpine, of the courses of Ceres, -of her arrival and sojourn at Eleusis. The vicinity of this city is full -of monuments reared in the honor of the goddess, and the priests show, -as yet, the stone upon which, tradition relates, she rested when -exhausted with fatigue. Thus, on one hand, the ignorant people believe -appearances as if they were realities; and on another hand, those who -have been initiated, having a clear sight of the spirit of the -mysteries, think they are right on account of the purity of their -intentions.' - -"Whatever it may be of the supposition I have related, the initiation is -now but a vain ceremony. Those who have been initiated are not more -virtuous than the others; every day they violate their pledge of -abstaining from fowl, from fish, from pomegranates, from beans, and -several other kinds of fruits, and of vegetables. Several have -contracted this sacred engagement through unworthy means; for, not long -ago, we have seen the government permitting the sale of the privilege of -participating to the mysteries; and, for a long while, women of ill fame -have been admitted to initiation." - -As it would require volumes to describe the ceremonies of all these -Pagan mysteries, we shall only examine their general character; show -forth their end; group together their common features, and glance at the -means used by political and religious leaders, to give a full scope to -this powerful governmental engine. - -The mysteries of Eleusis, and in general of all mysteries, aimed at the -amelioration of mankind, at the reformation of morals, and at taking -hold of the souls of men with more power than through the means of the -laws. If the means used was not lawful, we must however confess that the -aim was laudable, not in the minds of kings, emperors, hierophants and -other priests, but in itself. Cicero, the illustrious Roman orator, -said, that the institution of mysteries was one of the most useful to -humanity; at least the mysteries of Eleusis, whose effects, he added, -have been to civilize nations; to soften the barbarous and ferocious -habits and morals of the first societies of men; and to make known the -most important principles of morals, which initiate man to a sort of -life that is worthy of his nature. - -The same was said of Orpheus, who introduced in Greece the mysteries of -Bacchus. Poets wrote of him, that he had tamed tigers and lions; and -that he attracted even trees and rocks with the melodious strains of his -lyre. Mysteries aimed at the establishment of the reign of justice and -of religion, in the system of the rulers, who, from policy, maintained -the one by the other. This double end is contained in this verse of -Virgil:--"Learn from me to respect justice and the gods;" this was the -great lesson given by the Hierophant when the postulants were initiated. - -Those initiated learned in those profound sanctuaries, under the dark -and deep veil of fables, their duties towards their fellow men; -pretended duties which they were taught to the gods, and, more -unfortunately yet, pretended duties towards their political and -religious leaders, or rather tyrants. - -Rulers used all imaginable means to give a supernatural character to -their laws, and to make the people believe that they had this character. -The imposing picture of the universe, and the poetry of mythological -conceptions, gave to the legislators the subject of the varied and -wonderful scenes which were represented in the temples of Egypt, of -Asia, and of Greece. All that can produce illusion, all the resources of -witchcraft and of theatrical exhibitions, which were but the secret -knowledge of the effects of nature, and the art of imitating them; the -brilliant pomp of festivities; the variety and riches of decorations and -costumes; the majesty of the ceremonial; the captivating power of music; -the choirs; the chants; the dances; the electrifying sounds of cymbals, -calculated to produce enthusiasm and delirium, and more favorable to -religious exaltation than the calm of reason, all was brought to action -to attract the people to the celebration of the mysteries; and to create -in their souls a want, a desire for them. - -Under the charms of pleasure, of rejoicings and of celebrations, -legislators and other rulers oftentimes concealed a salutary aim; and -they treated the people like a child, which can never be more -efficaciously instructed, than when he thinks that his preceptor intends -only to amuse him. They resorted to great institutions to shape society; -to form habits; and to direct public opinion and morals. - -How magnificent was the procession of those initiated advancing to the -temple of Eleusis! The banners, the sacred chants, the music, the -costumes, and the dances, had a rapturous effect on the masses. They -thronged an immense temple; we say immense, for if we judge the number -of those initiated by the number of those who assembled in the plains -of Thriase, when Xerxes went to Attic, they were more than thirty -thousand. The costly and glowing ornaments which decked the vast hall, -the symbolic statues, which were master-pieces of sculpture, and the -mysterious pictures which were symmetrically arranged in the rotunda of -the sanctuary, filled the soul with amazement, and with a religious -respect. - -All that was seen in the temple, the decorations, costumes, ceremonies, -splendor; and all that was heard, the sacred chants, the melody of -instruments, the mythological teaching, the elevating poetry and the -eloquence of orators, struck the spectators with wonder, produced and -left in their souls the most profound impressions. Not only the universe -was presented to their gaze under the emblem of an egg divided into -twelve parts, representing the months of the year, but also the division -of the universe into cause active and cause passive, and its division -into the Principle of light, or good god, and the Principle of darkness, -or bad god. - -Varron informs us that the great gods adored at Samothrace were the -heaven and the earth, considered, the first as the cause active, and the -second as the cause passive of generation. In other mysteries the same -idea was retraced by the exposition of the Phallus and of the Cteis. It -is the Lingham of the Indians. - -The same was done in regard to the division of the world into two -Principles, the one of light, or good god, and the other of darkness, -or bad god. Plutarch writes, that this religious dogma had been -consecrated in the initiations, and in the mysteries of all nations; and -the example which he puts forth, extracted from both the theology of the -Chaldeans, and from the dogma of the symbolic egg produced by these two -Principles, is a proof of it. In the temple of Eleusis there were scenes -of darkness and of light, which were successively presented to the eyes -of the candidates to initiation: those scenes retraced the combats of -the Principle of light, or good god, and of the Principle of darkness, -or bad god. - -In the cavern of the god Sun, or Mithra, the priests had represented, -among the mysterious pictures of the initiation, the descent of the -souls to the earth, and their return to the heavens through the seven -planetary spheres. Also were exhibited the phantoms of invisible powers, -which chained them to bodies, or freed them from their bonds. Several -millions of men witnessed those various spectacles, of which they were -most severely forbidden to speak before the public. However the poets, -the orators, and the historians give us in their writings some idea of -what were those scenes, formulas, ceremonies, fables, and morals,--as, -for instance, in what they have written about the adventures of Ceres, -and of her daughter. There was seen the chariot of this goddess drawn by -dragons; it seemed to hover above the earth and the seas. It was a true -theatrical exhibition. The variety of the scenes was pleasing, and the -play of machines was attractive. Grave were the actors, majestic the -ceremonial, and passion-stirring the fables and representations. - -The hierophants, or priests, profoundly versed in the knowledge of the -genius of the people, and in the art of leading them, availed of the -minutest circumstances to create in them the desire to be initiated to -their mysteries. Night seems to be the mother of secrecy and the emblem -of mystery; it is favorable to prestige and illusion; in consequence -they celebrated their mysteries in the night. The fifth day of the -celebration of the mysteries of Eleusis was renowned by the superb -torchlight procession, in which those initiated, holding each one a -bright torch, walked two by two wearing enigmatic emblems. - -It was during the night, that the Egyptians solemnly and processionally -went to the shore of a lake; they embarked, and landed in an island -beautifully situated in the middle of the lake; and there they -celebrated the mysteries of the passion of Osiris. At other times those -celebrations took place in vast and dark grottos, or in retired and -shady thickets. Even now, in France, are seen caverns where the Druids -celebrated their mysteries; and forests where the Gauls assembled at -midnight; hung the heads of their vanquished enemies; immolated a young -virgin on the altar of Teutates; and celebrated their mysteries under -the leadership of the Druids. - -The ceremonial of the mysteries was ordained, particularly among the -civilized and populous nations, in such a manner that it could not fail -to excite the curiosity of the people, who naturally eagerly desire and -seek to know what is held in secrecy. Legislators and hierophants -rendered this curiosity more intense by the extremely stringent law of -secrecy imposed upon those initiated. Thus the profane, namely, those -uninitiated, were the more desirous to be acquainted with the mysteries, -and thus they joined them in large numbers. Legislators gave to this -spirit of secrecy the most specious pretext. It was proper, they said, -to imitate the gods who concealed themselves from man's gaze, for the -purpose of creating in his soul the desire to find them; and who have -made the phenomena of nature a profound secret to them, in order to -stimulate them to the study of the universe. Those initiated were not -permitted to speak of the mysteries except among themselves. The penalty -of death had been decreed against the one who would have revealed them, -even without purpose; and also against any one who would have entered -the sacred temple before having been previously initiated. - -Aristoteles was accused of impiety by the hierophant Eurymedon, for -having sacrificed to the manes of his wife, according to the rite -practiced in the worship of Ceres. He had to flee, and to retire at -Chalcis to save his life; and in order to clear his name from this stain -he ordered his heirs to erect a statue to Ceres. Eschyles, having been -charged with having written about mysterious subjects, saved his life -only by proving that he had never been initiated. The entry of the -temple of Ceres, and the participation to her mysteries, were prohibited -to the slaves, and to those whose birth was not legal; to women of ill -fame, to the philosophers who denied a Providence, such as the -Epicureans, etc. This interdiction was considered as a great -deprivation, for it was generally believed among the people that -initiation was the greatest blessing. - -In fact, those initiated were taught that they belonged to a class of -privileged beings, and were the favorites of the gods. The priests of -Samothrace credited their initiation by promising favorable winds, a -speedy and safe navigation to travelers who were candidates to their -mysteries. Those initiated to the mysteries of Orpheus believed that -they were no longer under the rule of the evil principle; that -initiation made them holy, and secured to them future happiness. After -the ceremonies of the initiation the candidate thus answered to the -priest: "I have rejected the evil and found the good." After that he -considered himself, and was considered by his fellows, wholly purified. - -Those who were initiated to the mysteries of Eleusis believed that the -sun shone brighter and purer to their eyes than to the sight of other -men; also that the goddesses inspired and gave them counsels from the -heaven, as seen by the example of Pericles. Initiation was considered as -freeing the soul from the darkness of error; as preventing misfortunes; -and as securing happiness on earth. - -One of the greatest blessings and privileges of the initiation, the -hierophant and other priests taught, was to secure here below a direct -communion with the gods, and more especially beyond the grave. According -to Cicero, Isocrates, and the rhetor Aristides, when he who had been -initiated departed from this earthly life he inhabited meadows enameled -with flowers of a celestial beauty, and lighted with a sun brighter and -purer than the one we see. In that charming abode he was to live -centuries, and long preserve his youth. When arrived at an old age, he -was to become young again. There was no labor, no sorrow, but all was -rapture and delight. - -In the Greek and Roman mysteries the unity and also the trinity of God -were consecrated dogmas. Jupiter was adored as the father of the gods -and of men, and as filling the whole universe with his power. He was the -supreme monarch of nature: the names of gods ascribed to the other -deities were more of an association in the title than in the nature of -their power, for each one of them had a particular work to perform under -the command of the supreme God. In the mysteries of the religion of the -Greeks, a hymn expressing the unity of God or Jupiter was sung; and the -High Priest, turning towards the worshipers, said: "Admire the master -of the universe; he is one; he is everywhere." It was acknowledged by -Eusebius, St. Augustine, Lactance, Justin, Athenagoras, and many other -Fathers of the Church, that the dogma of the unity of God was admitted -by ancient philosophers, and was the basis of the religion of Orpheus, -and of all the mysteries of the Greeks. - -The Platonicians believed in the unity of the archetype, or model on -which God formed the world; also they believed in the unity of -demiourgos, or god-forming, by a consequence of the same philosophical -principles, namely, from the unity itself of the universe, as can be -seen in Proclus, and in the writings of the Platonician authors. - -Trinity also, (see chapter fifth) was taught in the mysteries. -Pythagoras, and many other philosophers, explained the unity and trinity -of God by the theory of numbers. They called the monade cause, or -principle. They expressed by the number one, or unit, the first cause, -and they concluded to the unity of God from mathematical abstractions. -Next to this unity they placed triades, which expressed faculties or -powers emanated from them, and also intelligences of a second order. The -triple incarnation of the god Wichnou into the body of a virgin was one -of the doctrines taught in the mysteries of Mithra. - -So much for the mysteries of Paganism; however, we shall, in the course -of this work, refer to them several times. Let us now examine the -origin of the mysteries, which, the Partialists say, Jesus Christ has -taught. Mysteries suppose secrecy; but Jesus Christ preached his Gospel -in the open air to his apostles, to his disciples, to crowds of people, -and to all who were willing to hear his doctrines. He urged upon his -disciples to preach above the roofs what he taught them. When, after his -death, his apostles spread his gospel, they spoke in open air, -everywhere, to masses of people; Paul to the Areopagus, to thousands in -Jerusalem, etc. How then can it be supposed that Jesus Christ taught -mysteries? Indeed, he did not, but afterwards several Christian churches -did. - -The Protestant historian, Mosheim, cites in his History of the Church, -several authors, who state, that, in the second century, several -Christian churches imitated the mysteries of Paganism. The profound -respect, they say, that the people entertained for those mysteries, and -the extraordinary sacredness ascribed to them were for the Christians a -motive sufficient to give a mysterious appearance to their religion, so -as to command as much respect to the public as the religion of the -Pagans. To this effect they called mysteries the institutions of the -Gospel, particularly the Eucharist. They used in this ceremony, and in -that of baptism, several words and rites consecrated in the mysteries of -the Pagans. This abuse commenced in Orient, chiefly in Egypt; Clement of -Alexandria, in the beginning of the third century, was one of those who -contributed the most to this innovation, which then spread in Occident -when Adrian had introduced the mysteries in that portion of the Empire. -Hence, a large portion of the service of the Church hardly differed from -that of Paganism. - -That the Church of Rome copied many of the ceremonies, rites, customs, -and fables of Pagan mysteries is certain, for they have been perpetuated -in that Church down to our days. From the Pagan mysteries the Roman -Church borrowed the following: - -In the initiation to the Pagan mysteries there were degrees; so in the -Roman Church there are the degrees of porter or door-keeper, of acolyte, -of reader and of exorcist; the latter degree confers the power of -expelling the devil. The ecclesiastical ornaments in the Church of Rome, -with the difference of the cross represented on them and of some -trimming, are like those used in the mysteries of the Pagans, at least -in Rome, and in Greece. The long floating gown, the girdle, the casula, -the stola, the dalmatica, the round and pyramidal cap, the capa, and -several other garments and ornaments, are alike to those used in the -temples, where the mysteries of the Pagans were celebrated. - -In those temples there was an altar richly decorated; so it is in the -Church of Rome. In those temples there were twelve flambeaux, -representing the twelve months of the year: so there are in Catholic -churches, upon the first degree above the altar, six chandeliers with -six tapers burning during the celebration of the mysteries or mass; six -others are on the second degree. The vestals kept a light constantly -burning in the Pagan temples: so a lamp is kept burning, day and night, -near the altar, in the Catholic churches. In the Pagan temples the disc -of the sun and his beams were represented: so they are in the Catholic -churches. Upon the altar, in the Pagan temples, there was an image of -the god Osiris or Bacchus, and the emblems of an aries or lamb: so upon -the altar, in Catholic churches, there is a tabernacle in which God is -said to dwell, and the door of the tabernacle represents a bleeding -lamb. - -The Pagans solemnly and processionally carried the image of Osiris, or -Bacchus, around the head of which there was a halo representing the rays -of the sun: so in the Romish church the priests processionally and with -great pomp, carry, both in the aisles of the churches and on the -streets, a wafer which they call God. It is encased in a silver or gold -ostenserium, whose circular centre, in which their pretended God is seen -between two crystals, is shaped like the disc of the sun; and the -outside, of which called halo or glory, is shaped like his rays. In the -Pagan temples there was a sanctuary exclusively reserved to the -high-pontiff, and to the priests: so it is in the Catholic churches. In -the Pagan temples the sanctuary was turned towards the Orient: so it is -in the Catholic churches. - -The Pagans did not permit their candidates to initiation to assist at -the celebration of the mysteries, which was always preceded by this -formula, solemnly and loudly spoken by an officer, "Away from here ye -profane and impious men, and all those whose soul is contaminated with -crimes!" So in Catholic churches, not now, but from the first centuries -down to the middle age, the deacon arose after the homily, turned toward -the assistant, and ordered the catechumens to leave the church, because -the celebration of the mysteries was to commence. Those mysteries are -the mass, during which the priest who officiates commands Jesus Christ -to descend from heaven into a wafer, which he, (priest,) holds in his -hands, and to change it into his own blood, flesh, soul, and divinity. -The Pagans initiated the candidates near the front door of their -temples: so in the Catholic churches, the baptismal fonts where the -catechumens are initiated, namely, baptized, are placed near the portal. -Here we shall remark, that, for many centuries, children are baptized, -(even now parents are obliged under the pain of mortal sin to have their -children taken to the church to be baptized) three days after they are -born. The Pagans initiated candidates chiefly on the eve of great -celebrations: so, in the Romish church, catechumens are baptized chiefly -on the eve of Easter, and of Pentecost. - -The Pagans believed that initiation made them holy; so the Romish church -holds that baptism remits the original and all other sins, and makes -holy. The Pagans revered in their temples the statue of Pan, in whose -hands was a seven-pipe flute; also, they revered other emblems of the -seven planets: so in the Romish Church holds the doctrine of the seven -gifts of the Holy Spirit, and of the doctrine of the seven sacraments. -In the month of February the Pagans celebrated the Lupercales, and the -feast of Proserpine: so the Church of Rome celebrates the Candlemas-day. -We cite the very words of Bergier, a Catholic priest, and an ultra -Papist, who writes thus in his Theological Dictionary; article -Candlemas: - -"Several authors ascribe the institution of Candlemas-day to the pope -Gelase, for the purpose of opposing it to the Lupercales of the Pagans, -who went processionally out in the fields making exorcisms. It is the -opinion of the venerable Bede. 'The Church,' he says, 'has happily -changed the lustrations of the Pagans, which took place in February -around the fields. She has substituted to them processions, in which the -people carry in their hands burning tapers.' Others ascribe this -institution to the pope Vigil, and say that it has been substituted to -the feast of Proserpine, which the Pagans celebrated in the first days -of February with torches.' - -The Pagans worshiped Juno as the wife of the god Jupiter: so the Church -of Rome worships the virgin Mary as the wife of God. The Pagans -celebrated the exaltation of the virgo or virgin, the sixth sign and -seventh constellation in the ecliptic; so the Romish Church has -established the feast of Assumption, namely, of the ascension of the -virgin Mary to heaven. The Pagans made solemn processions to honor the -goddess Ceres; so the Romish Church has instituted pompous processions -in the honor of the virgin Mary. - -REMARK.--All the above institutions and doctrines of the Romish Church, -and also those which we shall examine in the following chapters, date -from the first centuries. All the Catholic doctors, theologians, and -historians, confess it. - -From the numerous and undeniable historical facts summed up in this -chapter we legitimately draw the conclusions, 1st. That, in the first -centuries of the Christian era, the Church of Rome established -mysteries; 2d. That the Church of Rome borrowed her mysteries from the -mysteries of the Pagans; and, 3d. That a law of secrecy was binding the -catechumens after their initiation, though this law was not so stringent -as it was among the Pagans. - -When, in the sixteenth century, the Protestants shook the yoke of the -Pope, they rejected many of the mysteries of the Church of Rome; -however, they kept several of them, such as the mystery of Trinity, -namely, of three Gods composing but one God; the mystery of incarnation, -namely of God himself descending from the heavens, vesting our mortal -clay in the womb of a woman for the purpose of being persecuted and -slain on a cross by men, thus pay to himself the debt owed to him by -men who had disobeyed him, (though they did not live yet,) in the person -of Adam. These, we say, and other mysteries of the Romish Church, the -Protestants or Heterodox in the opinion of the Catholics, preserved and -transmitted them to their sons, or Partialists, who now call the Roman -Catholics heathens; call the liberal Christian Churches heterodox, and -call themselves most emphatically Evangelical Churches, Orthodox -Churches. - -The final and strictly logical conclusion of this chapter is this: - -_Therefore the mysteries of the Romish Church, and those of the -self-called Orthodox Protestant Churches, are of Pagan origin._ - -_Corollary._ Since mysteries are of Pagan origin, and since Jesus Christ -and his apostles did not establish mysteries, there ought not to be -mysteries in Christianity. Since Jesus Christ and his apostles preached -the Gospel in open air to all, everywhere, there cannot be any mysteries -in their teaching, and there cannot be any mysteries in their writings, -we mean in the New Testament. - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -PAGAN ORIGIN OF THE DOCTRINE OF A PERSONAL DEVIL. - - -THE celebrated Plutarch, historian, philosopher, and priest of Apollo, -in the first century of the Christian era, thus writes: "We ought not to -believe that the Principles of the universe are not animated, as -Democrite and Epicure thought; nor that an inert matter be organized, -and ordained by a Providence that disposes of all, as the Stoicians -taught. It is impossible that one sole being, either good or bad, be the -author of all, for God can cause no evil. The harmony of the world is a -combination of contraries like the strings of a lyre, or like the string -of a bow capable of being bent and unbent. In no case, the poet -Euripedes says, good is separated from evil: there must be a mixture of -the one and of the other. This opinion is of immemorial antiquity, and -has been held by theologians, legislators, poets, and philosophers. Its -inventor is unknown, but it is verified by the traditions of mankind; it -is consecrated by mysteries and sacrifices among the Barbarians, as well -as among the Greeks. They all acknowledge the dogma of two opposite -Principles in nature, who, by their opposition, produce the mixture of -good and evil. - -"Therefore it may not be said, that a single dispenser draws events like -a liquor from two casks to mix them together; for this mixture is found -in all the phenomena of nature. We must admit two opposite causes, two -contrary powers, bearing the one to the right, and the other to the -left; and who thus govern our life and the whole sublunar world, which -for this reason is subject to all the irregularities and vicissitudes we -witness, for nothing is done without a cause. As the good cannot produce -evil, then there is a principle causing evil, as one causing good." - -We see by this passage of Plutarch, that the true origin of two -Principles proceeds from the difficulty which men, in all times, found -in explaining, by one sole cause, good and evil in nature, and in making -flow from one sole spring, virtue and crime, light and darkness. "This -dogma," Plutarch adds, "has been admitted by nearly all nations, and -more especially by those renowned by their wisdom. They believed in two -gods of different trade, if I may say so, who caused, the one good, and -the other evil. They called the first God by excellence, and the second -Demon." - -In fact the Persians, disciples of Zoroaster admitted, and even in our -days, the Parsis, their successors, admit two principles, the one called -Oromaze, and the other Ahriman. Plutarch says: "The Persians believed -that the first was of the nature of light, and the second of that of -darkness. Among the Egyptians the first was called Osiris, and the -second Typhon, eternal foe to the first." - -All the sacred books of the Persians, and of the Egyptians, contain the -marvellous and allegorical recital of the various combats given by -Ahriman and his angels to Oromaze, and by Typhon to Osiris. These fables -have been rehearsed by the Greeks in the war of the Titans against the -Giants, against Jupiter, or Principle of good and light; for Jupiter, -Plutarch remarks, was the Oromaze of the Persians, and the Osiris of the -Egyptians. - -To these examples quoted by Plutarch, and which he extracted from the -Theogony of the Persians, of the Egyptians, of the Greeks, and of the -Chaldeans, we shall add others, which are living yet, at least the most -of them. The inhabitants of the kingdom of Pegu admit two Principles; -the one author of good, and the other of evil. They particularly -endeavor to obtain the favor of the latter. The Indians of Java -acknowledge a chief supreme of the universe, and address offerings and -prayers to the evil genius lest he harm them. The Indians of the Moluc -and Philippine islands do the same. The natives of the island of Formose -worshiped a good god, Ishy, and demons, Chouy; they sacrifice to the -latter, but seldom to the former. - -The negroes of the Cote-d'or admit two Gods, the one good, and the -other bad; the one white, and the other black and evil. They do not -adore the former often, whereas they try to appease the latter with -prayers and sacrifices; the Portuguese have named him Demon. The -Hottentots call the good Principle the Captain of above, and the bad -principle the Captain of below. The ancients believed that the source of -evil was in the underneath matter of the earth. The Giants and Typhon -were sons of the Earth. The Hottentots say, that, whether the good -Principle is prayed to or not he does good; whereas it is necessary to -pray to the evil Principle, lest he might do harm. They call the bad god -Touquoa, and represent him small, crooked, irritable, a foe to them; and -they say that from him all evils flow to this world. - -The natives of Madagascar believe in two Principles. They ascribe to the -bad one the form and badness of a serpent, they call him Angat: they -name the good one Jadhar, which means great, omnipotent God. They rear -no temple to the latter because he is good. The Mingrelians more -particularly honor the one of their idols, which they think to be the -most cruel. The Indians of the island of Teneriffe believe in a supreme -God, whom they call Achguaya-Xerax, which means the greatest, the most -sublime, the preserver of all things. Also they admit an evil genius -named Guyotta. - -The Scandinaves have their god Locke, who wars against the gods, and -particularly against Thor. He is the slanderer of the gods, Edda says, -the great forger of deceit. His spirit is evil; he engendered three -monsters; the wolf Feuris, the serpent Midgard, and Hela, or death. He -causes the earthquakes. The Tsouvaches and the Morduans recognize a -supreme being, who gave men all the blessings they enjoy. They also -admit evil spirits whose occupation is to injure mankind. - -The Tartars of Katzchinzi adore a benevolent god, in kneeling towards -the Orient; but they fear another god, Toues, to whom they pray to disarm -his wrath; and to whom, in the spring, they sacrifice a stallion. The -Ostiaks and the Vogouls name that evil god Koul; the Samoyedes name him -Sjoudibe; the Motores, Huala; the Kargasses, Sedkyr. The Thibetans admit -evil spirits which they place in the regions above. The religion of the -Bonzes supposes two Principles. The Siamoeses sacrifice to an evil -spirit, whom they consider as being the cause of all the misfortunes of -mankind. - -The Indians have their Ganga and their Gournatha, spirits whom they try -to appease with prayer, sacrifices, and processions. The inhabitants of -Tolgony, India, believe that two Principles govern the universe; the one -good, he is light; and the other bad, he is darkness. The ancient -Assyrians, as well as the Persians, admitted two Principles; and they -honored, Augustine says, two gods, the one good, and the other bad. The -Chaldeans also had their good and bad stars, animated by geniuses or -intelligences also good and bad. - -In America the dogma of two Principles, and of good and bad spirits, is -also found. The Peruvians revered Pacha-Camac as being a good god, and -Cupai as being a bad god. The Caraibs admitted two sorts of spirits; the -one benevolent, who dwell in the heaven; and the other evil, who hover -over us to lead us to temptation. The former, on the contrary, invite us -to do good, and each of us is guarded by one of them. Those of -Terra-Firma think that there is a god in the heaven, namely, the sun. -Besides they admit a bad Principle, who is the author of all evils; they -present him with flowers, fruits, corn, and perfumes. The Tapayas, -situated in America by about the same latitude as the Madegasses in -Africa, believe also in two Principles. - -The natives of Brazil believe in a bad genius: they call him Aguyan; and -they have conjurors who can, they say, divert his wrath. The Indians of -Florida and of Louisiana adored the sun, the moon, and the stars. They -also believed in an evil spirit named Toia. The Canadians, and the -savage tribes of the Bay of Hudson, revered the sun, the moon, the -stars, and the thunder; but they more particularly prayed to the evil -spirits. The Esquimaux believe in a god supremely good, whom they call -Ukouma, and in another, Ouikan, who is the author of all evils; who -causes the tempests, and who capsizes the boats. The savages of the -strait of Davis believe in beneficent and malignant spirits. - -This distinction of two Principles, of a god, and of geniuses or -spirits, authors of good and light; and of a god and geniuses, authors -of evil and darkness, is immemorial. This opinion has been so -universally adopted for the only reason, that those who observed the -opposite phenomena of nature could not account for them, and could not -reconcile them with the existence of a single cause. As there are good -and bad men, they believed that there were good and bad gods, the ones -dispensers of good, and the others authors of evil. - -Such was the universal belief when Jesus Christ came to the world. The -Jews themselves, since the captivity of Babylon, generally believed in -those two Principles. They went so far as to immolate their own children -on the altars of evil deities, in order to appease them. Jesus preached -his Gospel, died, and left on earth his apostles with the trust of -continuing, among men, his saving mission. As in the writings of the -Evangelists the word demon, or devil, was used figuratively, meaning -lust, wrong desire, etc., some of the first Christians understood the -true sense of these figurative words, and others did not. In the third -century the Church of Rome, which had been tending to supremacy over -other churches, and which, from policy, to gain more adepts, was -compromising with Paganism, understood the word demon, or devil, -literally, and preserved the heathen doctrine, which, as she grew, -became widely spread, and afterwards an article of faith. - -The Fathers of the Church, of that age, believed that the demons, or -devils, were innumerable; that their chief, Lucifer, had entrusted a -demon to accompany each man through life, to tempt him to sin; that -Lucifer had as many bad angels, or demons, under his command, as God had -good angels; that all those demons were corporeal, and that those male -committed fornication and adultery with the daughters of men; and those -female with the sons of men; that they had generated the giants; and -that they had incited the oppressors of the Christians to persecute -them. Thus thought Justin, Tatian, Minutius-Felix, Athenagoras, -Tertullian, Julius-Firmicus, Origen, Synesius, Arnobe, St. Gregory of -Nazianze, Lactance, St. Jerome, St. Augustine, etc., as seen in their -works in either edition of the Benedictines, or of the canon Caillot, of -Migne, a priest, now editor in Paris. Even in our days the most of the -superstitious practices of the Pagans, in regard to evil spirits, are -preserved in the Papal Church,--conjurations, exorcisms, Agnus Dei, holy -water, etc., and others which they have added, such as the sign of the -cross, the expulsion of the devil from houses, barns, wells, wagons, -beasts, fields, etc. These ceremonies are oftentimes performed, as a -matter of course, for money. - -The same took place in the Church of Rome in reference to the heathen -dogma of good angels being under the command of the good spirit, or God; -this dogma was generally believed even by the Jews, at least since the -captivity of Babylon. We say _generally_, because the Sadduceans did not -believe it; and perhaps, also, the Samaritans and the Caraites, for we -have but two testimonies that prove they partook of the opinion of the -Samaritans on this point, namely, the testimony of Abusaid, author of an -Arabic version of the Pentateuch, and that of Aaron, in his commentaries -of the same. The Papal Church holds still that the angels form three -hierarchies, or choirs. The first is that of the Seraphims, Cherubims, -and thrones; the second comprises the dominations, the virtues, and the -powers; and the third is composed of the principalities, of the -archangels, and of the angels. One of these angels, called guardian, is -obliged to stand by each one of us all the days of our life. Temples, -altars, prayers and sacrifices are offered to them. - -Tertullian, Origen, Clement of Alexandria, etc., thought that the bodies -of the good angels were formed of a very thin, subtle matter. Other -Fathers, Basile, Athanase, Cyrille, Gregory of Nysse, John-Chrysostomus, -etc., considered them as spiritual beings; however, they believed that -they may take a body when they please. The Church of Rome holds, as an -article of faith, that the good angels ought to be adored. - -As seen above, the Church of Rome has preserved, with a very slight -modification, if any, the heathen dogma of two Principles, the one good, -God; and the other bad, Lucifer, or the devil; also the nomenclature of -geniuses, or spirits, or angels, which are, the ones under the command -of God, and the others under the command of Lucifer. When, in the -sixteenth century, the Protestants parted with the Church of Rome, they -cut off many branches of this dogma; but they kept its body, namely, -instead of understanding the words demon, or devil, as meaning lust, -abuse of free agency, wrong desire, etc., they understood them of -personal beings, either material or immaterial, but existing, tempting -each man to sin; and relentlessly seeking the ruin of mankind. - -_Therefore the doctrine of a Personal Devil is of Pagan origin._ - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -PAGAN ORIGIN OF THE DOCTRINE OF ORIGINAL SIN. - - -THE Roman Catholic writers are unanimous in the opinion that it was the -belief of a large number of Pagans that man had fallen from a higher -state of existence. St. Augustine, more especially, lengthily and -emphatically insists upon the general belief of the Pagans in original -sin, when he writes against Pelage. However, we shall bring forth other -testimonies, which will not leave, in the mind of the reader, any doubt -that the Pagans generally believed in original sin. - -Cicero, in his work De Republica, book third, after painting the -grandeur of the human nature, and then contrasting its subjection to -miseries, to diseases, to sorrow, to fear, and to the most degrading -passions, was at a loss to define man. He called him _a soul in ruins_. -It was for the same reason that, in Plato, Socrates reminds to his -disciples that those who had established mysteries, and who, he said, -were not to be despised, taught that according to their ancestors, any -one who dies without having been purified is plunged into the mire of -the Tartarus; whereas, he who has been purified dwells with the gods. -Clement of Alexandria, in his Stromata, book third, writes, that, -according to the testimony of Philolaues, the Pythagorician, all the -ancient theologians and poets said that the soul was buried in the body, -as in a grave, as a punishment for some sin. It was also the doctrine of -the Orphics, as can be seen in Plat., Cratyl., Opera, tome third. - -In the pages 48, 50, and 51, of the treatise of Plutarch, on the Delays -of Divine Justice, we read: "A State, for instance, is one same thing -continued, a whole, alike to an animal which is ever the same, and the -age thereof does not change the identity. The State then being one, as -long as the association maintains the unity, the merit and the demerit, -the reward and the punishment for all that is done in common are justly -ascribed to it, as they are to a single individual. But if a State is to -be considered in this point of view, it ought to be the same with a -family proceeding from the same stock, from which it holds I do not know -what sort of hidden strength; I do not know what sort of communication -of essence and qualities, which extend to all the individuals of the -race. Beings produced through the medium of generation are not similar -to the productions of arts. In regard to the latter, when the work is -completed it is immediately separated from the hand of the workman, and -it no longer belongs to him: true it is done by him, but not from him. -On the contrary, what is engendered proceeds from the substance itself -of the generating being; so that it holds from him something which is -justly rewarded or punished in his stead, for that something is -himself." - -According to the doctrine of the Persians, Meshia and Meshiane, or the -first man and first woman, were first pure, and submitted to Ormuzd, -their maker. Ahriman saw them and envied their happiness. He approached -them under the form of a serpent, presented fruits to them, and -persuaded them that he was the maker of man, of animals, of plants, and -of the beautiful universe in which they dwelled. They believed it; and -since that Ahriman was their master. Their nature became corrupt, and -this corruption infected their whole posterity. This we find in -Vendidat-Sade, pages 305, and 428. - -Thus sin does not originate from Ormuzd; but, Zoroaster says, from the -being hidden in crime. This testimony is found in the Exposition of the -Theological System of the Persians, extracted from the books Zends, -Pehlvis, and Parsis, by Anquetil du Perron. The following passage, -"There are stains brought by man when he comes to life," is found in the -69th tome of the Memoirs of the Academy of Inscriptions. - -We read in the Ezour-Vedam, book 1, chapter 4, tome 1, pages 201 and -202: "God never created vice. He cannot be its author; and God, who is -holiness and wisdom, can be the author but of virtue. He gave us his law -in which he prescribes what we ought to do. Sin is a transgression of -this law by which it is prohibited. If sin reigns on the earth, we -ourselves are its authors. Our perverse inclinations have induced us to -transgress the law of God; hence, the first sin which has induced us to -commit others." The same author in book 5, chapter 5, tome 2, -acknowledges that the first man was created in a state of innocence; and -that he was happy because he controlled his passions and desires. - -Maurice in his Indiae Antiquitates, vol. 6, page 53, proves that the -Indians had a knowledge of the fall of the first man and of the first -woman; he proves also that the dogma of original sin was taught by the -Druids. Voltaire, on the seventeenth page of his work, Additions to -General History, confesses that the Bramas believed that man was fallen -and degenerated: "this idea," he adds, "is found among all the ancient -peoples." - -The Father Jesuit Bouchet, in a letter to the Bishop of Avranches, -writes: "The gods," our Indians say, "tried by all means to obtain -immortality. After many inquiries and trials, they conceived the idea -that they could find it in the tree of life, which was in the Chorcan. -In fact they succeeded; and in eating once in a while of the fruits of -that tree, they kept the precious treasure they so much valued. A famous -snake, named Cheiden, saw that the tree of life had been found by the -gods of the second order. As probably he had been entrusted with -guarding that tree, he became so angry because his vigilance had been -deceived, that he immediately poured out an enormous quantity of poison, -which spread over the whole earth." - -In the Ta-Hio, or Moral of Confucius, page 50, Confucius, after saying -that reason is a gift from heaven, adds, "Concupiscence has corrupted -it, and it is now mixed with many impurities. Therefore take off those -impurities so that it resume its first luster, and all its former -perfection." The philosopher Tchouangse taught, in conformity with the -doctrine of King or sacred books of the Chinese, "that in the former -state of heaven, man was inly united to the supreme reason; and that he -practiced all the works of justice. The heart relished the truth. There -was in man no alloy of falsity. Then the four seasons of the year were -regular. Nothing was injurious to man, and man was injurious to nothing. -Universal harmony reigned in all nature. But the columns of the -firmament having been broken, the earth was shaken in its very -foundations. Man having rebelled against the heavens the system of the -universe was deranged; evils and crimes flooded the earth." This -testimony is extracted from the Discourse of Ramsey on Mythology, pages -146, and 148. - -M. de Humboldt, in the tome 1, pages 237 and 274, and also in the tome -2, page 198 of his Views of the Cordilleras and of the monuments of -America, says, "That the mother of our flesh; the serpent Cihuacohuati, -and her are famous in the Mexican traditions. Those traditions -represent the mother of our flesh fallen from her first state of -innocence and happiness." Voltaire, in Questions on Encyclopedia, says; -"The fall of man degenerated is the basis of the theology of all the -ancient nations." - -There were nearly among all nations expiatory rites, to purify infants -when they were born. Usually this ceremony was done in the day when the -child was named. Macrob informs us, in his Saturn, book 1, that "that -day, among the Romans, was the ninth for the boys and the eighth for the -girls. That day was called lustricus, because of the lustral water used -to purify the new born child." In the Analysis of the Insc. of Rosette, -page 145, we read that the Egyptians, the Persians, and the Greeks had a -similar practice. In Yucatan the new born child was brought in the -temple, where the priest poured on his head the waters destined to this -use; and then he gave him a name. In the Canary islands the women -performed this priestly function. Caril, in his American Letters, tome -1, pages 146, and 147, speaks of these ceremonies. A law prescribed -these expiatory rites among the Mexicans. - -M. de Humboldt, Views of the Cordilleras, and of the Monuments of -America, tome 1, page 223, writes: "The midwife, in invoking the god -Ometeuctly, (the god of celestial paradise,) and the goddess Omecihuatl, -who live in the abode of the blessed, poured water on the forehead and -on the breast of the new-born child. After pronouncing several prayers, -in which water was considered as the symbol of the purification of the -soul, the midwife called near her the children who had been invited to -give a name to the new-born child. In some provinces a fire was kindled -at the same time, and they did as if really the child was passed through -the flame to purify him both with water and fire. This ceremony reminds -the practices whose origin, in Asia, seems to be immemorial." - -Likewise, the Thibetans have similar expiatory rites: this we find in -the thirty-first page of the preface of the Thibetan Alphabet. We -extract the following from the Works of the Society of Calcutta: "In -India, when a name is given to a child, his name is written on his -forehead, and he is plunged three times into the water of the river. -Then the Brama exclaims, 'O God, pure, one, invisible and perfect! to -thee we offer this offspring of a holy tribe, anointed with an -incorruptible oil, and purified with water.'" - -In the mysteries, the Hierophant taught the doctrine that our nature had -been corrupted by a first sin. The sixth book of the poem Eneida is -nothing but a brilliant exposition of this doctrine; and perhaps -antiquity offers nothing that proves more the power of tradition on the -human mind, than the passage in which the poet, following Eneas in the -abode of the dead, describes in magnificent verses the dismal spectacle -which first strikes his gaze. If there is any thing in the world that -wakes up in our mind the idea of innocence, assuredly it is a child who -has been unable neither to know nor to commit sin; and the supposition -that he is subject to punishment and to suffering, is a thought which -our soul abhors. However, Virgil, in the 6th book, verses 426, and 429, -places the children dead when yet nursing, at the entry of the sad -kingdoms, where he represents them in a state of pain, weeping and -moaning--vagitus ingens. Why those tears, those cries of sufferings? -Which faults do those children, to whom their mothers had not smiled, -expiate? (Virgil, Ecloga 4, verse 62.) What has inspired the poet with -this surprising fiction? On what does it rest? Whence does it originate, -if not from the ancient belief that man was born in sin? - -Therefore, the doctrine of original sin was generally believed by the -Pagans. - -We stated, at the commencement of this chapter, that the Roman Catholic -writers are unanimous in the opinion that it was the belief of a large -number of Pagans, that man had fallen from a higher state of existence. -However, a small number only of the same writers are of the opinion that -the Jews believed in the doctrine of original sin; and they find no -other proof of the assertion than the ceremony of circumcision, which, -as is familiar to all, was a mere legal and national observance, and had -not the virtue of remitting sin. In the first centuries of the -Christian era, baptism was considered as a mere ceremony for initiating -catechumens to the Christian profession. - -It was only towards the end of the third century, that the belief of the -transmission of Adam's sin to all his descendants was introduced in the -Church of Rome, which already considered herself the mistress of the -other churches. Soon afterwards the dogma that baptism had the virtue of -remitting original sin was established. As proof of these two facts, we -have the testimony of more than twenty-three Christian sects of the -first centuries, which did not admit the dogma of original sin; and did -not believe that baptism had the virtue of remitting sin. We quote a few -of those sects: the Simonians, the Nicolaites, the Valentinians, the -Basilidians, the Carpocratians, the Ophites, the Sethians, the -Pelagians, all the Gnostic sects, etc. - -Therefore, the Church of Rome borrowed the dogma of original sin from -the Pagans. To this many Roman Catholic writers say: true the Pagans -held this doctrine, but we did not borrow it from them; we found it in -the first chapters of Genesis. We rejoin that even the fathers of the -fourth century did not understand those chapters literally, and thereby -as teaching the dogma of original sin. St. Augustine, in his work, City -of God, avers that it was a general opinion among Christians, that the -first three chapters of Genesis are allegorical, and that he himself is -inclined to think so. He confesses that it is impossible to take them -literally without hurting piety, and ascribing to God unworthy actions. -Origen says: "Where is the man of good sense, who can ever believe that -there have been a first, a second, and a third days, and that those days -had each an evening and morning, though there were not yet neither sun, -nor moon, nor stars? Where is the man credulous enough to believe, that -God was working like a gardener, and that he planted a garden in Orient; -that the tree of life was a real tree, whose fruit would preserve life?" - -Origen compared the temptation of Adam to that of the birth of Love, -whose father was Porus, or Abundance, and whose mother was Poverty. He -adds that there are in the Old Testament facts, which, if understood -literally, are absurd, and which, if understood allegorically, contain -valuable truths. We refer the reader for the above to the following -works: See St. Augustine, De Civitate Dei, liber xi, cap. 6, et liber 2, -cap. xi, No. 24.--De Genesi ad Litteram, liber 4, No. 44.--De Catechis -Rudibus, cap. 13. The opinion of St. Athanase can be found in his Oratio -Contra Arium, No. 60.--That of Origen, in his work De Principiis, liber -iv, No. 16, contra Celsum, liber 6, No. 50, 51. That of St. Ambrosius, -in his Hexam, liber one, cap. 7, et Sequentia. That of Theodoret, in his -Quest. in Genes. interpr. cap. v. et Sequentia, and that of St. Gregory -in his Moral, in Job, liber 32, cap. 9. - -The Fathers and the Christian sects named above, did not take the first -three chapters of Genesis literally, because it would imply absurdity -and blasphemy. The idea of God, namely, of the supreme and eternal -cause, who clothes our clay for the pleasure of walking in a garden; the -idea of a woman conversing with a serpent; listening to its counsels and -heeding them; that of a man and a woman organized for reproduction, and -yet destined to be immortal on earth, and to procreate a mathematical -infinity of beings, immortal like themselves, who also will infinitely -multiply, and will all find their food in the fruits of the trees of a -garden where they will all dwell; a fruit culled that is to kill Adam -and Eve, and to be transmitted as a hereditary crime to all their -descendants, who did not participate to their disobedience, crime which -will be forgiven only in as much as men will commit another crime, -infinitely greater, a deicide--if such a crime might exist; the woman -who since that time is condemned to bring forth with pain, as if the -pains of childbirth were not natural to her organization, and were not -common to her, as well as to the other animals which have not tasted the -forbidden fruit; the serpent forced to crawl, as if a footless reptile -could move any other way: so many absurdities and follies, heaped in -those first three chapters, they could not believe and ascribe them to -God. - -Maimonide, one of the most learned Rabbins of the Jews, thus wrote in -the twelfth century: "We ought not to understand literally what is -written in the books of the creation; nor entertain about the creation -the opinions generally agreed. It is for this reason that our wise men -urged upon us to keep their true teaching secret, and not to lift up the -veil of allegory which conceals the truths they contain. If taken -literally the relation of the creation gives us the most absurd and -extravagant ideas of the Deity. Whoever will find out their true -teaching, ought to keep it to himself; this is the earnest -recommendation of our wise men, and more especially in regard to the -first six days. Those who know ought to speak about it but obscurely, as -I do myself, so as to let their hearers guess if they can." - -The above facts and proofs lead us to the conclusion that the Church of -Rome borrowed the dogma of original sin from the Pagans. - -As the Protestants, who call themselves Orthodox, borrowed it in the -sixteenth century from the Church of Rome, it follows that they also -hold it from the Pagans. - -_Therefore, the doctrine of Original Sin is of Pagan origin._ - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -PAGAN ORIGIN OF THE DOCTRINE OF TRINITY. - - -THE Roman Catholic writers themselves confess that the Pagans believed -in Trinity; also the most of the self-called Protestant Orthodox -historians and authors. The neutral authors are unanimous on this point. -The following facts and proofs we shall impartially extract from those -three classes of writers: - -The Egyptians believed in Trinity; the Greek inscription of the great -Obelisk of the major circus, at Rome, reads thus: Megas Theos, the great -god, Theogentos, the begotten of god; and Pamphegges, the all-bright, -(Apollo, the Spirit.) Heraclide, of Pont, and Porphyre relate a famous -oracle of Serapis: Prota Theos, metepeita logos, kai pneuma soun autois. -Sumphuta de tria panta, kai eis en eonta. [Translation:] All is God in -the beginning; then the word and the spirit; three Gods coengendered -together and united in one. - -The Chaldeans had a sort of Trinity in their Metris, Oromasis, and -Araminis, or Mithra, Oromase and Aramine. The Chinese had also, and -still have, a mysterious Trinity. The first god generates the second -one, and both generate the third one. The Chinese say that the great -term, or great unity, contains three, one is three, and three are one. -In India Trinity was immemorially known. The Father Jesuit Calmet -writes: "What I have seen mostly surprising is a text extracted from -Lamaastambam, one of the books of the Indians.... It begins thus: The -Lord, the good, the great God, in his mouth is the word. (The term which -they use personifies the word.) Then it speaks of the Holy Spirit in -these words: Ventus seu spiritus perfectus; [translation] breath or -perfect spirit,--and it ends by the creation, ascribing it to God -alone." - -The Jesuit Calmet says, writing about the Thibetans: "I learned the -following about their religion. They call God Konciosa, and they seem to -have some idea of the adorable Trinity; for they call God sometimes -Konsikosick, God-one, and at other times Kocioksum, God-three. They use -a kind of bead on which they pronounce these words: _om_, _ha_, _hum_. -When they are asked the explanation, they answer that _om_ signifies the -intelligence, or arm, namely power; that _ha_ is the word; that _hum_ is -the heart or love, and that these three words signify God." - -The Father Bouchet, a Roman Catholic missionary in India, wrote the -following to the bishop of Avranches: "I commence by the confused idea -which the Indians preserve about the adorable Trinity. My Lord, I have -spoken to you of the three principal deities of the Indians, Bruma, -Wishnou, and Routren. The greater portion of the people say, it is true, -that they are three different gods, and really separate. But several -Nianigneuls, or spiritual men, assure that these three gods, apparently -distinct, compose in reality but one god: that this god is called Bruma, -when he creates and exercises his all-power; that he is called Wishnou, -when he preserves the created beings, and does them good; and that, -finally, he takes the name of Routren, when he destroys the cities, -chastises the wicked, and makes men feel his just anger." - -English missionaries have found at Otaiti some traces of the Trinity -among the religious dogmas of the natives. - -Plato refers to this doctrine in several passages of his works. "Not -only," says Dacier in his translation, "it is believed that he knew -about the Word, eternal Son of God; but also that he knew about the Holy -Spirit, for he thus writes to the young Denis: - -"'I must declare to Archedemus what is much more precious and more -divine, and which you so eagerly desire to know; for you sent him to me -for this express purpose. According to what he told me, you think that I -have not sufficiently explained to you my opinion about the first -Principle, therefore I shall write it to you, enigmatically, however, in -order that, if my epistle is intercepted at sea or on land, he who will -read it will be unable to understand it. All things are around their -king; they exist through him, and he is the only cause of good things, -second for the second things, and third for the third things.' - -"In the Epinomis," continues Dacier, "Plato establishes as Principle, -the first good, the Word, or intelligence and the soul. The first good -is God;... the Word, or intelligence, is the son of this first good, who -begets him similar to himself; and the soul, which is the term between -the Father and the Son, is the Holy Spirit." - -Plato had borrowed this doctrine about Trinity from Timee of Locre, who -held it from the Italian philosophical school. Marsile Ficin, in one of -his remarks on Plato, shows from the testimonies of Jamblic, Porphyre, -Plato and Maxim of Tyr, that the Pythagoricians knew also the excellence -of the Ternary; Pythagoras himself indicated it in this symbol: Protima -to Schema, kai Bema, kai Triobolon. The Jesuit Kirker, dissenting about -the unity and trinity of the first Principle, traces vestiges of the -doctrine of Trinity up to Pythagoras, and to the Egyptians. - -St. Augustine himself, though the staunchest defender of the dogma of -Trinity, confessed that, among all the nations of the world, a Trinity, -nearly similar to the one he believed in, had been held. He added that -the Pythagoricians, the Platonicians, and that a great number of -Atlantes, Lybian, Egyptian, Persian, Chaldean, Scythian, Gallenses, and -Hibernian philosophers, held several dogmas about the unity of the God, -Light, and Good, in common with the Church of Rome. - -Macrobe gives us a summary of ancient or Platonician theology, which -contains a true Trinity, of which that of the Papists and of the -self-called Protestant Orthodox is but a copy. According to this -summary, the world has been formed by the universal soul: this soul is -the same as their spiritus, or spirit. They also call the Holy Spirit -Creator: "Veni Creator spiritus," etc., [translation,] Come Spirit -Creator, etc., (Catholic hymn.) Macrobe adds, that from this spirit or -soul the intelligence, which he calls _men's_ proceeds. Is this not the -Father, the Son, or wisdom, and the Spirit that creates and vivifies -all? Even is not the expression _to proceed_ common to the ancient and -to the Papist and Protestant Orthodox Churches in the filiation of the -first three beings? - -Macrobe goes farther. He recalls the three Principles to a primitive -unit, who is the sovereign God. After resting his theory on this Trinity -he adds: "You see how this unit, or original monade of the first cause, -is preserved entire and indivisible up to the soul, or spirit, which -animates the world." This testimony of Macrobe has so much more bearing, -that he wrote in the beginning of the fifth century; that he was the -first Chamberlain of the emperor Theodose, and was the most learned -antiquarian of that age. - -Another most important fact we shall record. It is beyond any doubt -that before the coming of Jesus Christ the Jews did not hold the dogma -of Trinity, nor do they now. Their Rabbins, and all the Roman Catholic -theologians, agree on this point. - -During the first three centuries of the Christian era the dogma of -Trinity was not generally believed. The Simonians, the Nicholaites, the -Valentinians, the Basilidians, the Carpocratians, the Ophites, the -Sethians, all the Gnostics, and many other Christian sects rejected it. -It was only in the fourth century, that Arius and the above sects were -condemned in the council of Nice, because they denied the divinity of -Jesus Christ. This council was assembled by the order of the emperor -Constantine I., who was urged to it by the Bishop of Rome, (or Pope,) -whose Church held the dogma of Trinity. As a matter of course the -bishops of the council had to decide according to the will of those two -leaders; for Constantine threatened them with deposition and exile: in -fact he banished Arius, and deposed seventeen bishops, who did not -subscribe to the decision of the council. - -The doctrine that Jesus Christ was not God himself was so generally -spread, and so deeply rooted in the minds, that several successors of -Constantine I. embraced Arianism; and it was only after centuries that -Arianism, which was spread nearly all over the East, was crushed by the -papal and the imperial power. - -Now let us draw our conclusions. Since the Jews had no knowledge of the -dogma of Trinity, the Church of Rome could not borrow it from them; -since the generality of the Christian sects during the first three -centuries did not believe in the divinity of Jesus Christ, the Church of -Rome did not find the dogma of Trinity in the Gospel; (besides, the -Catholic theologians never pretended that the Scriptures teach it--they -simply pretended, and still pretend, that it was a tradition.) Since the -dogma of Trinity was believed by many Pagan sects, then the Roman Church -borrowed it from them. - -In turns, the self-called Orthodox Protestant Churches borrowed this -doctrine from the Church of Rome, in the sixteenth century. - -_Therefore the doctrine of Trinity is of Pagan origin._ - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -PAGAN ORIGIN OF THE DOCTRINE OF THE SUPREME DIVINITY OF JESUS CHRIST. - - -IT will be demonstrated that the doctrine of the supreme divinity of -Jesus Christ is of Pagan origin, if it can be proved, 1st, That the -Church of Rome, from which the self-called Orthodox Protestant Churches -borrowed this doctrine, in the sixteenth century, did not hold it from -the apostles of Jesus Christ; and, 2d, That the Church of Rome uses, in -her adoration to Jesus Christ, rites and ceremonies of a striking -similarity with those used by the Pagans, in their adoration to the sun, -under the names of Bacchus, Hercules, Osiris, Mithra, Atys, etc. - -But it can be proved, 1st, That the Church of Rome, from which the -self-called Orthodox Protestant Churches, in the sixteenth century, -borrowed the doctrine of the supreme divinity of Jesus Christ, did not -hold it from the apostles of Jesus Christ; and, 2d, That the Church of -Rome uses, in her adoration to Jesus Christ, rites and ceremonies of a -striking similarity with those used by the Pagans in their adoration to -the sun, under the names of Bacchus, Hercules, Osiris, Mithra, Atys, -etc. - -1st. We prove that the Church of Rome, from which the self-called -Orthodox Protestant Churches, in the sixteenth century, borrowed the -doctrine of the supreme divinity of Jesus Christ, did not hold it from -the apostles of Jesus Christ. - -It will be evident that the Church of Rome, from which the self-called -Orthodox Protestant Churches, in the sixteenth century, borrowed the -doctrine of the supreme divinity of Jesus Christ, did not hold it from -the apostles of Jesus Christ, if, until nearly the end of the third -century, the various Christian denominations, or sects, did not believe -the doctrine of the supreme divinity of Jesus Christ. But, until nearly -the end of the third century, the various Christian denominations, or -sects, did not believe the doctrine of the supreme divinity of Jesus -Christ. - -This we prove:-- - -We request the readers to bear in mind, in reading this chapter, that -we have extracted all the proofs and statements brought forth therein, -from the works of the Roman Catholic priest Bergier, which we have -studied in our Catholic theological school; from the works of -the Rev. Father Jesuit Feller; from the History of the Church, -by Berrault-Ber-Castel, a Roman Catholic priest; and from the -Ecclesiastical History, by the Roman Catholic clergyman Fleury. Those -proofs and statements can be verified, in the first two writers, at the -articles of the sects, and of their authors, arranged in alphabetical -order; and in the other authors at the dates of the centuries and years. - -Bergier says: "The Cerinthians pretended that Jesus Christ was born from -Joseph and Mary like other men; but that he was endowed with a superior -wisdom and holiness; that when he was baptized, Christ, or the Son of -God, had descended on him under the form of a dove, and had revealed to -him God the Father, till then unknown, in order that he might make him -known to men." The Cerinthians sprung up, according to St. Epiphane, in -the middle of the first century, but according to St. Ireneus, at about -the year 88. - -Therefore the Cerinthians did not believe the doctrine of the supreme -divinity of Jesus Christ. - -Bergier says: "The Carpocratians supposed the pre-existence of the -souls; pretended that they had sinned in an anterior life; that as a -punishment of their crimes they had been condemned to be shut up in -bodies.... In their belief, the soul of Jesus Christ, before her -incarnation, had been more faithful to God than the others. It is for -this reason that God had endowed her with more knowledge than the souls -of other men; also with more strength both to defeat the geniuses -opposed to humanity, and to return to heaven against their will. God, -they said, grants the same favor to those who love Jesus Christ; and -who, like him, know the dignity of their souls. Thus the Carpocratians -considered Jesus Christ as being simply a man, though more perfect than -the others; they believed that he was the son of Joseph and Mary, and -confessed his miracles and sufferings. They are not accused of denying -the resurrection, but of denying the general resurrection; and of -holding that the soul only (not the body) of Jesus Christ, had ascended -to the heavens." The sect of the Carpocratians commenced towards the end -of the first century. - -Therefore the Carpocratians did not believe the doctrine of the supreme -divinity of Jesus Christ. - -Bergier writes thus about the Ebionites: "It is very probable that -(although some authors say that they date from the year 72 of the first -century) they commenced to be known only in the year 103, or even later, -under the reign of Adrian, after the total ruin of Jerusalem, in the -year 119; that the Ebionites and the Nazarenes are two different sects; -it is the opinion of Mosheim, Hist. Christ., soec. 1, par. 58, soec. 2, -par. 39.... The Ebionites considered Jesus Christ as being simply a man -born from Joseph and Mary." - -Consequently the Ebionites did not believe the doctrine of the supreme -divinity of Jesus Christ. - -The Christian sect of the Basilidians was founded in the beginning of -the second century by Basilide of Alexandria, Feller says; he had been -converted from the philosophy of Pythagoras and Plato to Christianism. -Bergier writes about the Basilidians: "They believed that God had sent -his Son, or intelligence, under the name of Jesus Christ, to liberate -those who would believe in him; that Jesus Christ had really performed -the miracles ascribed to him by the Christians; but that he had only a -fantastical body and the appearances of a man." - -Therefore the Basilidians did not believe the doctrine of the supreme -divinity of Jesus Christ. - -The sect of the Marcionites was established, in the middle of the second -century, by Marcio, the son of a bishop of Pontus. The Marcionites held -that God, principle of the spirits, had given to one of them, Jesus -Christ, the appearances of humanity; and had sent him to the earth to -abolish the law and the prophets; to teach to men that their souls come -from heaven, and that they cannot be restored to happiness except in -reuniting to God. - -Therefore the Marcionites did not believe the doctrine of the supreme -divinity of Jesus Christ. - -Valentin founded the sect of Valentinians in 140. He was an Egyptian, -and had been converted from philosophy to Christianism. Bergier, after -lengthily exposing the doctrines of his sect, says, "Consequently the -Valentinians neither admitted the eternal generation of the Word, nor -his incarnation, nor the divinity of Jesus Christ, nor the redemption of -mankind, in the proper sense. In their opinion, the redemption of -mankind by Jesus Christ did not extend farther than this--Jesus Christ -had come to the world to liberate men from the tyranny of the Eons, and -had given them examples and lessons of virtue, and had taught them the -true means of obtaining eternal happiness." - -Therefore the Valentinians did not believe the doctrine of the supreme -divinity of Jesus Christ. - -The Ptolemaites did not believe the doctrine of Jesus Christ, and held -that he was but the Son of God. - -St. Epiphane in his work Haere. 36, and Bergier, inform us that the -Heracleonites, whose chief was Heracleon, and who were widely spread, -particularly in Sicily, believed that the Word divine did not create the -world, but that it had been created by one of the Eons, or spirits. In -their opinion, there were two worlds, the one corporeal and visible, and -the other spiritual and invisible, and they only ascribed the formation -of the latter to Jesus Christ, who was one of the greatest Eons, or -spirits. The Heracleonites were organized as a sect in the year 140. - -The Colarbasians did not believe the doctrine of the supreme divinity of -Jesus Christ. - -Sanderus and Bergier say, that the Barules professed to believe that the -Son of God had but a fantastical body; that there was no original sin; -that all our souls had been created before the world, and all had sinned -in that former state of existence; and that Jesus Christ was not God. - -The Bardesanists, thus named from their founder, Bardesanes, a Syrian, -who lived in the second century, became a large sect. Beausobre in his -History of Manicheanism, tome 2, book 4, chap. 9, writes, that they -believed in two Principles, originators of all things, the one good and -the other bad. They denied that the eternal Word, or Son of God, had -taken a human flesh; they said that he had taken only a celestial and -aerial body. They denied the future resurrection of the body. Bergier, -Feller, etc., say the same. - -Then the Bardesanists did not believe the doctrine of the supreme -divinity of Jesus Christ. - -The Marcosians rejected the doctrine of the supreme divinity of Jesus -Christ, and held only that he was one of the principal Eons, or spirits. -The Marcosians were founded by Marc in the second century. - -The Theodotians, Bergier says, believed that Jesus Christ was not God -but a man; that he was above the other men only by his miraculous birth, -and by his extraordinary virtues. Theodote, a native of Bysance, founded -them in the second century. - -The Artemonians also denied the doctrine of the supreme divinity of -Jesus Christ. - -The Docetes held that Jesus Christ was only the Son of God, and that he -had but apparently suffered humiliations, torments, and death. - -The Tatianists did not believe the doctrine of the supreme divinity of -Jesus Christ. Tatian gave them his name when he organized them as a -Christian denomination, in the second century. Bergier pretends that -some passages of the writings of this learned author can be understood -of the supreme divinity of Jesus Christ, but Fauste Socin, and others, -in the Bibliotheca Fratrum Polonorum, in ten volumes, in folio, proves -the contrary; and at the same time they prove that Clement of Alexandria -and other Fathers of the second century disbelieved the doctrine of the -supreme divinity of Jesus Christ. Bergier confesses, however, that it is -doubtful that Tatian had been Orthodox about the generation of the Word. - -The Apellites denied the doctrine of the supreme divinity of Jesus -Christ. In their belief there was but one God, who sent to the world his -Son, who took a body not in the womb of the virgin Mary, but from the -four elements. Their sect widely spread in the East during the second -century. - -Bergier says, writing about the doctrines of the Ophites, a Christian -sect of the second century: "In their belief, matter was eternal; the -world was created against the will of God, and was governed by a -multitude of spirits who govern the world. Christ united to the man -Jesus to destroy the empire of the Demiourge, or creator of the world." - -Therefore the Ophites did not believe the doctrine of the supreme -divinity of Jesus Christ. - -One of the doctrines of the Cainites was, that Jesus Christ was a spirit -sent by God to save the world. - -The Hermogenians, or followers of Hermogene, a Stoician philosopher, -converted to Christianism at the end of the second century, believed -that matter was eternal; that there was but one God, who had sent a -spirit, Jesus Christ, to correct the evil that was among men. - -"The Hermians, or disciples of Hermias," Bergier says, "taught that -matter is eternal; that God is the soul of the world; that Jesus Christ, -ascending to the heavens left his body in the Sun, from whom he had -taken it; that the soul of man is composed of fire and of subtle air; -that the birth of children is the resurrection, and that the world is -hell." Bergier adds, in another article, that they believed that there -was but one God, who had sent to the world a spirit, Jesus Christ. - -Therefore the Hermians did not believe the doctrine of the supreme -divinity of Jesus Christ. - -Bergier, writing about the Sethians, says: "They said that the soul of -Seth had passed to the body of Jesus Christ, and that Seth and Jesus -Christ were the same person." - -St. Augustine informs us that the Severians did not believe the doctrine -of the resurrection of the flesh, and rejected the Old Testament. They -did not believe that Jesus Christ was God himself. - -The Encratites never held that Jesus Christ was God. Bergier says, "They -did not believe that the Son of God was truly born from the virgin -Mary." - -The Valesians rejected the doctrine that Jesus Christ was God himself. - -Bergier writes: "The Hieracites, heretics of the third century, were -established by Hierax, or Hieracas, a physician by profession, born at -Leontium, or Leontople, in Egypt. St. Epiphane, who relates and refutes -the errors of this Sectarian, confesses that the austerity of his morals -was exemplary; that he was familiar with the Greek and Egyptian -sciences; that he had thoroughly studied the Scriptures, and that he was -gifted with a persuasive eloquence. He denied the resurrection of the -body, and admitted but a spiritual resurrection of the souls. He -confessed that Jesus Christ had been generated by the Father; that the -Holy Ghost proceeds from the Father as well as the Son; but he had -dreamed that the Holy Ghost had taken a human body under the form of -Melchisedek. He denied that Jesus Christ had a true human body." - -Therefore the Hieracites denied the supreme divinity of Jesus Christ. - -Bergier thus writes about the Samosatians: "They were disciples and -followers of Paul of Samosate, bishop of Antioch, at or about the year -262. This heretic taught that there is in God one sole person, namely, -the Father; that the Son and the Holy Spirit are only two attributes of -God, under which he manifested himself to men: that Jesus Christ is not -God, but a man to whom God has communicated his wisdom in an -extraordinary manner." - -Therefore the Samosatians did not believe the doctrine of the supreme -divinity of Jesus Christ. - -The Manicheans denied the divinity of Jesus Christ, and believed that -Jesus Christ had not a real body while on earth. His soul, they said, -was of a nature similar to the nature of the souls of other men, though -more perfect. He was the Son of God. - -Therefore the Manicheans denied the doctrine of the supreme divinity of -Jesus Christ. - -All the above sects composed nearly the whole Christian body, during the -first three centuries; and, as shown to the reader, every one either -ignored or denied the doctrine of the supreme divinity of Jesus Christ. - -Then it remains evident that the Church of Rome, from which the -self-called Orthodox Protestant Churches, in the sixteenth century, -borrowed the doctrine of the supreme divinity of Jesus Christ, did not -hold it from the apostles of Jesus Christ. - -_Confirmatur._--As a confirmation of this last and very important -consequence, we are to prove, - -1st. That in the Church of Rome, herself, the doctrine of the supreme -divinity of Jesus Christ was established only at about the year 180. - -_Remark._--By the Church of Rome, we mean only the church whose bishop -(who after centuries assumed the title of Pope,) was at Rome, and which, -then, did not extend farther than the province of Rome, and a few other -occidental places. - -2d. That in the council of Nice, held in 325, despite the efforts of -the Bishop of Rome; and despite the tyranny of the emperor Constantine -I., who invoked the council at his own expense, attended, surrounded, -and enforced it with military force, it was with the greatest difficulty -that the Church of Rome obtained, from the bishops who composed it, a -decision in favor of the doctrine she held, that Jesus Christ was God -himself. - -3d. That it was only long after the council of Nice that its decision, -in favor of the doctrine of the supreme divinity of Jesus Christ, -prevailed among the churches which depended on the Emperor of -Constantinople, and on the Bishop of Rome. - -4th. We will also present a succinct view of the large number of -Christians, who, without the pale of the communion of Rome, preserved -the former belief that Jesus Christ was not God. - -1st. We prove that in the Church of Rome herself, the doctrine of the -supreme divinity of Jesus Christ was established only at about the year -180. - -Bergier himself makes the following confession: "An ancient author, who -is believed to be Caius, bishop of Rome, who had written against -Artemon, and of whom Eusebe has related the words, Ecclesiastical -History, book 5, chap. 22, seems to confound together the Theodotians -and the Artemonians.... They maintain, he says, that their doctrine is -not new; that it has been taught by the apostles, and that it has been -followed in the church until the pontificates of Victor and of Zephyrine -his successor, but that since that time the truth has been altered." - -Bergier adds, "The Theodotians believed that Jesus Christ was a man, and -not God, that Jesus Christ was above the other men only by his -miraculous birth, and by his extraordinary virtues." Also, Bergier says, -that, although Theodote was a native of Bysance, he resided in Rome, -where he preached the same doctrine as Theodote, at least in regard to -Jesus Christ being a man and not God. - -Therefore in the Church of Rome herself, the doctrine of the supreme -divinity of Jesus Christ was established only at about the year 180. - -2d. We prove that in the council of Nice, held in 325, despite the -efforts of the Bishop of Rome; and despite the tyranny of the emperor -Constantine I., who convoked the council at his own expense, attended, -surrounded, and enforced it with military force, it was with the -greatest difficulty that the Church of Rome obtained, from the bishops -who composed it, a decision in favor of the doctrine she held, that -Jesus Christ was God. - -Arius, a priest of Alexandria, surprised at hearing Alexander, his -bishop, teaching in an assembly of priests, that Jesus Christ was God, -protested against this new doctrine. An animated controversy between him -and Alexander, and then between the friends of the Church of Rome, -which held this doctrine, and other churches which did not, ensued. The -council of Nice assembled, and there seventeen bishops boldly faced the -legate of Sylvestre, the emperor Constantine and his military force; and -they sided with Arius. Eusebe, bishop of Cesarea, the most learned of -the bishops who composed the council, sided with Arius. He is the same -Eusebe who wrote the Evangelical Preparation and Demonstration, in two -volumes in folio; who wrote an Ecclesiastical History, the Life of -Constantine, a Chronic and a Commentary on the Psalms and on Isaiah. -Constantine forced them either to yield and to acquiesce to the doctrine -of the supreme divinity of Jesus Christ, or to be expelled from their -episcopal sees; and Arius, exiled, had to retire in Palestine. - -Consequently, in the council of Nice, held in 325, despite the efforts -of the Bishop of Rome; and despite the tyranny of the emperor -Constantine I., who convoked the council at his own expense, attended, -surrounded, and enforced it with military force, it was with the -greatest difficulty that the Church of Rome obtained, from the bishops -who composed it, a decision in favor of the doctrine she held, that -Jesus Christ was God himself. - -3d. We prove that it was only long after the council of Nice, that its -decision in favor of the doctrine of the supreme divinity of Jesus -Christ, prevailed among the churches which depended on the Emperor of -Constantinople, and on the Bishop of Rome. - -Bergier, despite his partiality in favor of the Church of Rome, is -obliged to make the following avowal: - -"The anathema pronounced against Arianism did not destroy it; _the -larger portion of those_ (bishops) _who had signed the decision of the -council, only for fear of being exiled, remained attached to the party -of Arius_. Constantine himself, influenced by an Arian priest, -recommended to him by his sister Constantia, at her death bed, and who -had gained his confidence, consented to the repeal of Arius from his -exile, in 328. This heretic reunited to his partisans, and commenced -spreading his errors with even more earnestness than before. But St. -Athanase, who had succeeded to Alexander in the episcopal see of -Alexandria, constantly refused to commune with him, and by this firmness -displeased Constantine I. - -"Since that time the Arians became a redoubtable party. They held -several councils where they obtained the majority.... Arius died in a -tragic manner, in the year 337. After the death of Constantine I., in -337, the party of the Arians was alternatively the stronger, in ratio of -the less or greater protection extended to them or to the Orthodox by -the Emperors. Under Constance, who favored them, they filled the Orient -with seditions and troubles; but Constantine Junior and Constant, who -reigned in Occident, prevented Arianism from spreading. In 351, -Constance, who had become the master of the whole empire by the death of -his two brothers, protected Arianism more openly than before. Several -councils were held in Italy, in which the Arians had the majority; and -others, in which the Catholics had the superiority.... Julian, who was -emperor in 362, sided neither with one party nor with the other. Valens, -emperor of the Orient, in 364, favored and embraced Arianism; whereas -Valentinian, his brother, did all in his power to extirpate it from the -Occident. - -"Gratian, and afterwards Theodose, proscribed Arianism from the whole -empire.... In the beginning of the fifth century, the Goths, the -Burgundians, and the Vandals, spread it in Gaul and in Africa. The -Visigoths introduced it in Spain, where it subsisted as long as the -kings of that country were Arians themselves, until the year 660. - -"Arianism was to be revived in the sixteenth century. It is probable -that Arianism would have invaded the whole Orient if the Arians had been -united." - -Therefore, it was only long after the Council of Nice, that its -decision, in favor of the doctrine of the supreme divinity of Jesus -Christ, prevailed among the churches which depended on the Emperor of -Constantinople, and on the Bishop of Rome. - -4th. We will also present a succinct view of the large number of -Christians, who, without the pale of the communion of Rome, preserved -the former belief that Jesus Christ was not God. - -We have proved, in the course of this chapter, that the following -Christian sects, or denominations, did not believe the doctrine of the -divinity of Jesus Christ: the Corinthians, the Carpocratians, the -Ebionites, the Basilidians, the Marcionites, the Valentinians, the -Ptolemaites, the Heracleonites, the Colarbasians, the Barules, the -Bardesanists, the Marcosians, the Theodotians, the Artemonians, the -Docetes, the Tatianists, the Apellites, the Ophites, the Cainites, the -Hermogenians, the Hermians, the Sethians, the Severians, the Encratites, -the Valesians, the Hieracites, the Samosatians, and the Manicheans. But -nearly all these Christian sects of the first three centuries outlived -the Council of Nice, and preserved through centuries the doctrine that -Jesus Christ was not God himself: this is the unanimous testimony of -historians. - -From the four heads of convincing historical proofs brought forth in -this _confirmatur_, we draw once more the conclusion: - -1st. Then the Church of Rome, from which the self-called Orthodox -Protestant Churches, in the sixteenth century, borrowed the doctrine of -the divinity of Jesus Christ, did not hold it from the apostles of Jesus -Christ. - -2d. We prove the second proposition of the argument of this chapter, -namely, that the Church of Rome uses, in her adoration to Jesus Christ, -rites and ceremonies of a striking similarity with those used by the -Pagans in their adoration to the sun, under the names of Bacchus, -Hercules, Osiris, Mithra, Atys, etc. - -Every year the Pagans celebrated with pomp the death of Bacchus. Those -celebrations were called Titanical, and celebrations of the perfect -night. They supposed that this god had been slain by the Giants; but -that his mother, or Ceres, had reunited his bones. To retrace his death -they killed a bull, whose raw flesh they ate, because Bacchus, -represented with the horns of an ox, had been thus torn by the Titans. -Julius-Firmicus, an orthodox author of the fourth century, who wrote -about the legend of Bacchus, says that the Pagans considered those -fictions as solar fables. He adds that the sun was irritated at being -thus worshiped: here, in being immersed into the Nile river, under the -names of Osiris and of Horus; there, in being mutilated under the names -of Atys and of Adonis; and in other places, in being boiled or roasted, -like Bacchus. The Bacchanals, or disorderly, noisy, tumultuous, and -frantic scenes took place. - -St. Athanase, St. Augustine, Theophile, Athenagoras, Minutius-Felix, -Lactance, Firmicus, and other Christian writers of the first centuries, -as well as more ancient authors, describe the general mourning of the -Egyptians in the anniversary day of the death of Osiris. They describe -the ceremonies practiced on his tomb, and the tears shed thereon during -several days. The mysteries in which the representation of his death was -exhibited, and which took place during the night, were called mysteries -of night. - -Likewise the death of Mithra was celebrated. To the usual magnificence -of his temples succeeded a gloomy sight. The priests, during the night, -carried his image in a tomb, and laid it on a litter, in the same manner -as the Phoenicians laid the image of Adonis. This ceremony was -accompanied with dismal songs, and with groans. The priests, after this -feigned expression of grief, kindled a flambeau, called sacred; anointed -the image of Mithra with chrisma, or with perfumes; and then one of -them, in a solemn and loud voice, pronounced these words: "Cheer up, -holy mourners, your god is come again to life; his sorrows and his -sufferings will save you." - -Julius Firmicus, who relates this, exclaims: "Why do you exhort those -unfortunate to rejoice? Why do you deceive them with false promises? The -death of your god is known; but his new life is not proved. There is no -oracle that ascertains his resurrection; he has not appeared to men -after his resurrection to prove his divinity. An idol you bury; upon an -idol you mourn; an idol you lift up from the tomb, and having expressed -your grief you rejoice," etc. - -The Church of Rome practices alike ceremonies in celebrating the -anniversary day of the death of Jesus Christ. All the ornaments of each -church, the statues and images of saints, etc., are clothed in black. In -one of the chapels of the church a tomb is prepared, in which, on the -Holy Thursday morning, Jesus Christ--namely, a wafer which has been -consecrated--is laid, shut up, not in the ostensorium, but in a -ciborium, as a sign of mourning. The priests perform this ceremony. -During the whole day the church is thronged with people, who come to -express to Jesus Christ their sympathy in his sufferings. At about eight -o'clock in the evening, a gloomy procession, composed of the priests and -the people, march along the streets in the dark (this procession takes -place only in Catholic countries,) now and then reciting in a low and -dismal tone a verse of the psalm, _Miserere mei Deus_, [translation,] -Lord have mercy on me. When this procession has taken place, hymns of -suffering and of death are sung in the church, around the tomb in which -Jesus Christ lays. At eleven o'clock a priest goes to the pulpit, and in -an affecting manner relates to the sobbing and weeping multitude the -sufferings and death of Jesus Christ. This address is called Passion's -sermon. - -The people spend the whole night in the church to keep company to Jesus -Christ in his sufferings, they say, and to relieve him by their -sympathy. In the morning of the Holy Friday the church is yet filled -with mourners. The priests, processionally, but in silence, go to the -tomb where Jesus Christ lays, take him out, and carry him into the -tabernacle, where they shut him up, but without leaving any taper -burning in the whole church. In the evening, after the recitation of the -_Officium Tenebrarum_, [translation,] Office of Darkness, boys, men, -women and all, fill the church with their yells, with the sharp sound of -rattles, with the blows they strike on boards with small and large -sticks, and with sounding, sonorous instruments, such as horns, etc. A -few days after they eat the wafer, which they pretend to be the raw -flesh and blood of Jesus Christ. - -The Pagans, in celebrating the resurrection of Bacchus, Osiris, etc., -who represented the sun, lighted the lamps of their temples with a fire, -which the priests obtained by striking a piece of steel with silex, and -was called new fire. That day the priests were clothed in white -ornaments; the lustral waters were renewed, and also the decorations of -the temples: so in every church the Romish priests strike a piece of -steel with silex, and obtain a fire called new fire; with it they light -the lamps, and the taper called Paschal taper. They renew the holy -water, which the people piously carry to their homes, and keep for -protection during the storms, etc. The priests change their priestly -garments, and clothe in white. - -The Pagans worshiped the sun under the name of Aries, because the Aries -was one of the celestial signs: so the Church of Rome worships Jesus -Christ under the form of a lamb. Formerly, the Roman Catholic parents -suspended on the necks of their children the symbolic image of a lamb; -and the women, instead of wearing a cross, as they do now, wore a lamb. -This practice had been introduced by the Romish priests, who sold, as -they sell now, Agnus Dei, which have been consecrated with prayers and -sprinkled with holy water, as being the emblems of Jesus Christ. - -A lamb was represented bleeding, and under it was a vessel in which the -blood dropped. This practice was in use till the year 680, under the -pontificate of the pope Agathon, and under the reign of the emperor -Constantine III., surnamed Pogonat. Then it was ordered by the sixth -council of Constantinople, canon 82, that a man nailed to a cross should -be substituted to the ancient symbol of a lamb. However, this symbol was -partly preserved in the church, as seen above. The symbol of a lamb is -yet seen on the tabernacle, or small box of marble, or of wood, richly -wrought upon, placed on the altar; also on the ostensorium, and on the -forepart of the altars. - -The Pagans placed a sunlike halo around the heads of the statues of -Osiris, Bacchus, and other gods, who, in their opinion, represented the -sun: likewise in the Church of Rome the priests place the wafer, which, -they think, is Jesus Christ himself, in an ostensorium, which is shaped -like the disc of the sun; and which represents his beams; the wafer -itself is circular. This ostensorium is of silver, or of gold, and -adorned with diamonds, or gems. Above the altar a large sun is -generally either painted, or carved, or formed with draperies. The -Pagans kept in their temples a lamp burning, in the honor of the sun: -so, in the Roman Catholic churches a lamp is kept burning, day and -night, near the altar, in the honor of Jesus Christ. - -The Pagans built their temples so that the sanctuary was turned towards -the rising sun: likewise, the Roman Catholic churches are built so that -the sanctuary be turned towards the rising sun. - -The Pagans carried in triumph, processionally, and with the most -brilliant pomp, the statues of Bacchus, Osiris, and other gods, -representing the sun: likewise, on the feast day of the body of Jesus -Christ, the consecrated wafer is carried in triumph, processionally, and -with the most brilliant pomp. The priestly and other ornaments are of a -tissue of silver, or of gold. A multitude of people follow: the various -confraternities of Penitents, the ones grey, the others blue, the others -white, etc., and the many confraternities of virgins, of married women, -all in variegated costumes, march before the consecrated wafer. The -civil, judiciary, and military authorities, regiments of soldiers with -brass bands, with drums beating, with banners and flags unfurled, escort -the consecrated wafer, which is carried by the first priest of the -parish, under a canopy of the most costly and magnificent tissue. - -The Pagans burnt flambeaux before the statues of Osiris, Bacchus, etc., -to represent the planets; and sometimes to represent the signs of the -Zodiac: so, in the Roman Catholic churches, upon the altar, there are -six chandeliers, with candles burning around the consecrated wafer, -namely, Jesus Christ, who is in the middle. - -From all the above facts we may legitimately draw the conclusion, that -the Church of Rome uses, in her adoration to Jesus Christ, rites and -ceremonies of a striking similarity with those used by the Pagans in -their adoration to the sun, under the names of Bacchus, Hercules, -Osiris, Mithra, Atys, etc. - -We now come to the general conclusions of the present chapter. - -It has been proved, 1st, That the Church of Rome, from which the -self-called Orthodox Protestant Churches, in the sixteenth century, -borrowed the doctrine of the divinity of Jesus Christ, did not hold it -from the apostles of Jesus Christ. - -2d. It has been proved that the Church of Rome uses, in her adoration to -Jesus Christ, rites and ceremonies of a striking similarity with those -used by the Pagans in their adoration to the sun, under the names of -Bacchus, Hercules, Osiris, Mithra, Atys, etc. - -Then the Church of Rome, from which, in the sixteenth century, the -self-called Orthodox Protestant Churches borrowed the doctrine of the -supreme divinity of Jesus Christ had borrowed it from the Pagans. - -_Therefore the doctrine of the supreme divinity of Jesus Christ is of -Pagan origin._ - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -PAGAN ORIGIN OF THE DOCTRINE OF ENDLESS HELL. - - -ARTICLE I. - -_Metempsychosis, or Transmigration of the Souls._ - -THE rulers of nations, and the authors of the initiations, had a -profound knowledge of the human nature, and of the genius of the people. -From the fact that an ox, unaware of his strength, yields to the leading -hand of a child, so they knew that would they let the masses ignore -their power, they could easily control them, mould their opinions, -habits, and morals. Also aware of the terror that death impressed upon -their minds, and knowing that it is an infirmity of man's nature, when -uncultivated by philosophy, to fear more a distant and indefinite, but -unavoidable misery beyond the grave, than the most excruciating tortures -on earth, they found in those prejudices of the people a sure means to -lead and rule them. Therefore they endeavored to make them believe that -those who would transgress the laws, or would commit some other crimes, -should be punished by the gods immortal in the future life. - -They had to invent the nature of that punishment, and as there were many -degrees of wickedness, they had to admit, also, various degrees in the -punishment. To more easily and more surely make the people believe their -invention, they thought it was wise to make the punishment, and its -degrees, coincide with the then universally established religion, which -was but one, though there were many systems of theology. That religion -was the one we have examined in the first chapter of this work, and -which consisted in the belief that nature was an uncreated but animated -being, whose vast body comprised the earth, the sun, the planets, and -the stars, to which one great soul impressed motion and life; and that -those principal parts, or members, of the body of the universe were -animated by emanations or irradiations of the great soul of the -universe, or nature. - -This pantheistic doctrine was materialist; for it supposed that the -great soul of the universe was the purest substance of the fire ether, -and thereby man's soul was of the same nature. It was the belief even of -the famous philosopher Pythagoras, and of his disciples. All animals, -according to Servius, the commentator of Virgil, draw their flesh from -the earth, their humors from water, their breath from the air, and their -soul from the breath of the Deity. Thus the bees have a small portion of -the Deity. Our soul is like a drop of water which is not annihilated, -whether it evaporates in the air, or condenses and falls again in rain, -or rolls into the sea to add its littleness to the massy waters. When we -die our life melts, reenters into the great soul of the universe, and -the remains of our body mix again with the elements of the air. - -Virgil believed that our death is not annihilation, but that it is a -separation of two sorts of matters, the one thereof remains here below, -and the other reunites to the sacred fire of the stars, as soon as the -matter of which our soul is composed has reacquired all the purity of -the subtle matter, from which it had emanated, _aurae simplicis ignem_. -Nothing, Servius says, is lost in the great whole, and in the pure fire -which constitutes the substance of the soul. Virgil says of the souls: -_igneus est ollis vigor, et coelestis origo_; that they are formed of -the active fire that shines in the heaven, and that they return thither -when they are separated from the body by death. - -The same doctrine we find in the dream of Scipio: "It is from there," he -says, speaking of the regions of the fixed stars, "that the souls -descended, thereto they shall return; they were emanated from those -eternal fires we name stars. What ye call death is but a return to true -life; the body is but a prison, in which the soul is momentarily -chained. Death breaks her ties, and restores her to liberty, and to her -true state of existence." - -From this pantheistic doctrine, it followed that man's soul is immortal -though material. - -Upon this sort of immortality of our soul, the rulers built a system of -punishment, called Metempsychosis, or transmigration of the souls. This -system was so much the better adapted to the then received religion, -that all the souls being simply different emanations from the same fire -ether, the consequence was that all the souls were homogeneous, and -differed only in appearance, and by the nature of the bodies to which -the fire-principle, which composed their substance, united. Virgil said -that the souls of all animals are an emanation of the fire ether, and -that the difference of their operations on earth is to be ascribed only -to the difference of vases, or organized bodies, which receive this -substance; or, according to the words of Servius, the lesser or greater -perfection of their operations is in ratio of the nature of the bodies. - -The Indians, among whom, even in our days, the system of Metempsychosis -prevails, think that man's soul is absolutely of the same nature as that -of other animals. They say that man is superior to them, not in his soul -but in his body, whose organization is more perfect and more apt to -receive the action of the great Being, viz., of the universe, than -theirs are. They ground their opinion on the example of children and of -old men, whose organs being too weak yet, or having been weakened, do -not permit their senses to have the same activity which is displayed in -a mature age. - -The soul, in the exercise of her operations, being necessarily in -submission to the body which she animates; and all souls flowing from -the immense reservoir called universal soul, it follows that the portion -of the fire ether which animates a man, might as well animate an ox, a -lion, an eagle, a whale, or any other beast. Fate caused that she would -animate a man, and such a man; but when the soul will be disengaged from -this first body, and will return to her source, she will be able to pass -into the body of another animal; and her activity will be lesser or -greater, in ratio of the organization of the new body into which she -will pass. - -All the great work of nature being reduced to successive organizations -and destructions, in which the same matter is ten thousand times used -under ten thousand forms, the subtle matter of the soul, carried in that -current, brings life to all the moulds which open to receive her. Thus -the same water flown from a same reservoir, enters the various pipes -which are opened, rolls on and empties either as a fountain, or as a -cascade, according to the forms of the orifices of the pipes; then it -congregates, evaporates, and forms clouds which brings it back down to -the earth, to experience again an infinity of modifications. It is the -same of the fluid of the soul spread in the various canals of the animal -organization, flowing from the bright mass of which the ethereal -substance is composed; thence being carried to the earth by the -generating force distributed among the animals, continually ascending -and descending in the universe, and circulating within new bodies -diversely organized. - -Such was the basis of Metempsychosis, which became one of the most -powerful political engines in the hands of the ancient rulers, -legislators and mystagogues. Pythagoras brought this doctrine from the -Orient to Greece, and to Italy. This philosopher, and Empedocles after -him, taught that the souls of the criminals, when death separated them -from the bodies they animated, passed into the bodies of beasts in order -to suffer, under those divers forms the punishment of their wickedness, -until they might recover, by expiation, their native purity. So this -transmigration of the souls was a punishment of the gods. The Stoicians -held this doctrine; and the emperor Marcus-Aurelius, in the ninth book -of his Works, said: "The spiritus, or breath, which animates us, passes -from one body into another." - -To give the reader a general idea of what was the belief of the -ancients, and of their philosophers, in regard to Metempsychosis, we -take from the tenth and last book of the Republic of Plato the following -lengthy but instructive extract:-- - -"It is not the narration of Alcinoues (namely, a false story, such as the -one of Ulysse to the Pheacians,) that I will tell you; but that of a -noble man, of Her, the Armenian, a native of Pamphily. He had been -killed in a battle; but when, ten days after, the dead bodies were taken -away for inhumation, his, instead of being in putrefaction like the -others, was found natural and entire. It was carried to his house, and, -on the twelfth day, when laid on the wood-pile, he came again to life; -and he related to the assistants what he had seen in the other world. - -"'As soon,' he says, 'as my soul left my body, I arrived, in company -with a great number of souls, at a mysterious place, where were seen two -openings near each other, and two others corresponding in the sky. -Between these two regions were judges sitting: when they had pronounced -their sentence they ordered the righteous to take the right hand side -route through one of the openings of the sky, after having previously -placed on their breast a mark containing the judgment rendered in their -favor; also they ordered the wicked to take the left hand side route -through one of the openings of the earth, carrying on their back a mark -containing all their evil actions. When I was presented to the judges, -they decided that I should return to the earth to inform men of what was -done in the other world; and they bade me listen and observe all I was -to witness. - -"'First I saw the souls of those who had been judged, the ones ascending -to the heavens, and the others descending below the earth through the -two corresponding openings. Withal I saw, through the other opening of -the earth, many souls coming out, covered with filthiness and dust; and -also, through the other opening in the sky, I saw souls pure and -spotless descending: they seemed to return from a long voyage, and to -stop with pleasure in the meadow, as if in a place of reunion. Those who -knew each other mutually inquired what they had seen in the heaven, and -in the earth. The ones related their adventures with groans and tears, -caused by the recollection of the sufferings they had endured, or seen -others endure, during their voyage below the earth, whose duration was -of a thousand years. The others, who returned from the heaven, related -the rapturous pleasures they had enjoyed, and the marvellous things they -had seen.' - -"It would be too long, my dear Glaucon, to relate the whole discourse of -Her on this subject. It might be summed up in saying that the souls were -punished ten times for each injustice they had committed while on earth; -that the duration of each punishment was of one hundred years, natural -length of man's life, in order that the punishment be ever tenfold for -each crime. Thus those who had contaminated themselves with murder; who -had betrayed States and armies, and reduced them to servitude; or who -had committed similar crimes, were punished tenfold for each one of -those crimes. Whereas those who had done good to their fellow men, who -had been holy and virtuous, received in the same proportion the reward -of their good deeds. In regard to children who die immediately, or a -short time after they are born, Her gave details which it is useless to -relate. According to his narration there were great recompenses for -those who had honored the gods, and had respected their parents; and -also there were extraordinary tortures for the parricides, and for -impious men. - -"'I was present,' said he, 'when a soul asked another where was the -great Ardiee. This Ardiee had tyrannized over a city of Pamphily a -thousand years before; he had killed his father, who was an old man, and -he was guilty, it was said, of many other atrocious crimes. He does not -come, the soul answered, and he will never come here. We all have -witnessed, in relation to him, the most dreadful spectacle. When we were -about leaving the subterraneous abyss after our pains ended, we saw -Ardiee, and a great number of others, the most of whom had been tyrants -like himself; there were also others, who, though in a private -condition, had been great criminals. - -"'When those souls were about going out, the opening was closed; and -whenever one of those wretched souls, whose crimes were irremissible, -tried to get out of the abyss, she howled. Thereupon hideous and -firelike beings came. They violently wrested away several of those -criminals; then they seized Ardiee and others, tied their feet, their -hands and their heads; and after throwing them on the ground and -torturing them with lashes, they dragged them through bleeding thorns, -telling the shadows which they met on their route the reason why they -treated so those souls, and adding that they were going to throw them -into the Tartarus. Those souls added, that of the various fears they -had on the route none was so horrible as that of hearing that howl; and -that it had been an inexpressible pleasure for them not to have heard it -when they were released from the abyss. - -"'Behold what took place in regard to the judgments, tortures, and -rewards. After each one of those souls had spent seven days in the -meadow they left on the eighth, and arrived, after a march of four days, -at a designated spot, wherefrom was seen a light crossing the heaven and -the earth, as straight as a column, and similar to the rainbow, but -brighter and purer. They reached this light in one day's march. There -they saw that the extremities of the heaven meet at the middle of this -light, which united them fast, and which embraced all the circumference -of the heaven, in nearly the same manner as the beams which girdle the -sides of galleys, and which bear their frame. At the extremities the -spindle of Necessity hung, and determined the revolutions of the -celestial spheres.'" - -Here Her describes the spindle. This description we omit, for it does -not relate to our subject. - -Her continues:-- - -"'Near the spindle, and at equal distances, sat on thrones the three -Parques, daughters of Necessity, Lachesis, Clotho, and Atropos, dressed -in white, and their heads crowned with a bandelet. They united their -chant to that of the Sirenes; Lachesis sung the past, Clotho the -present, and Atropos the future. Clotho, now and then, touched the -spindle with her right hand, and made it revolve externally. Atropos, -with her left hand, impressed motion to each one of the interior whirls, -and Lachesis, with both hands, touched now the spindle, and then the -interior whirls. When the souls arrived they appeared before Lachesis. -First a Hierophant assigned a rank to each one; then taking from the lap -of Lachesis the fates and the various conditions of human life, he -mounted on a high stand, and spake thus:-- - -"'This is what the virgin Lachesis, daughter of Necessity, says: -Voyaging souls you are to commence another career, and return into a -mortal body. The genius will not choose for you: each one of you shall -choose hers. The first one that fate will designate shall choose first, -and her choice shall be irrevocable. Virtue has no master; she clings to -him who honors her, and flies from him who despises her. The error of -the choice shall fall on you. God is innocent. - -"'Thereupon the Hierophant casting the fates, each soul picked up the -one that fell before her, except myself who had been forbidden it. Each -one knew then in which rank she had to choose. Then the same Hierophant -placed before them callings of all kinds, whose number was greater than -that of the souls who were to choose; for all the conditions of men and -beasts were assembled therein. There were tyrannies, the ones were to -last till death; and the others were to be suddenly interrupted, and -were to end by exile, poverty and indigence. Also there were seen -conditions of illustrious men, the ones for beauty, for strength, for -fame in the combats; and the others by their nobleness, and the great -qualities of their ancestors; there were seen also obscure conditions. -There were destinies of women of the same variety. But there was no -regulation for the rank of the souls, because each one was necessarily -to change of nature according to her choice. Besides, wealth, poverty, -and diseases, were found in all conditions: here without any mixture, -there in a just proportion of advantages and disadvantages.' - -"But this is evidently, my dear Glaucon, the redoubtable trial for -mankind.... The Hierophant added: he who chooses the last, provided he -be judicious, and then be consistent in his conduct, may hope to be -blessed in life. Therefore let him who is to have the first choice, be -not presumptuous; and let him who has the last choice, despair not. When -the Hierophant had thus spoken, he to whom the first fate had been -devolved, hastily advanced, and took, without any deliberation, the -greatest tyranny; but when he had considered it, and seen that his -destiny was to eat his own children, and to commit other enormous -crimes, he lamented; and, forgetting the recommendation of the -Hierophant, charged upon the fortune and the gods, with the wretchedness -of his fate. This soul was one of those who came from heaven; she had -previously lived in a well governed state, and had been virtuous more -from temper and habit, than from philosophy. - -"On the contrary, the souls who had sojourned in the subterranean -region, and who had both the experience of their own sufferings, and the -knowledge of the misfortunes of others, were cautious in their choice. -This experience on one side, and that inexperience on the other, -together with the fate which decided the rank for the choice, were the -cause that the most of the souls exchanged a good condition for a bad -one, and a bad one for a good one. He also said, that it was a strange -spectacle to see in what manner each soul made her choice, nothing was -more extraordinary, nor more pitiful; the most of them were guided in -their choice by the habits they had contracted in their previous life. -He had seen the soul of Orpheus choosing the condition of a swan, from -hatred to women who had killed him, and from whom he did not wish to -receive birth. He saw the soul of Thamyris choosing the condition of -nightingale; likewise he saw a swan and several other birds choosing the -human condition. - -"Another soul had chosen the condition of a lion; it was that of Ajax, -son of Telamon, who, remembering the offense she had received in the -judgments rendered about the arms of Achilles, refused to take again a -human body. Then came the soul of Agamemnon, who, from antipathy against -mankind on account of her past sufferings, chose the condition of an -eagle. The soul of Atalante, desirous of the athletic honors, chose to -be a champion. The soul of Epee, son of Panope, preferred the condition -of a woman skillful in handiworks. The soul of the buffoon Thersite came -one of the last, and entered the body of a monkey. There were, Her -added, souls of animals which exchanged their condition against ours, -and human souls which passed into bodies of beasts. The souls -indistinctly passed from the bodies of animals into human bodies, and -from human bodies into bodies of animals; those of the righteous into -species of a higher order. - -"When all the souls had chosen their new condition of existence, -according to the rank determined by fate, they came to Lachesis in the -same order. She gave to each one the genius of her choice, and this -genius was to be her guardian during her mortal life, and was to aid her -in the accomplishment of her destiny. This genius first led her to -Clotho, who, with her hand, and with a revolution of the spindle -confirmed the chosen destiny. When the soul had touched the spindle, the -genius took her to Atropos, who rolled the thread in her fingers, to -render irrevocable what had been already spun by Clotho. After that, the -soul proceeded to the throne of Necessity, under which the soul and her -genius, or demon, passed together. When all had passed, they went to the -plain of the Lethe river, where they were oppressed by an intense heat; -for there was in this plain, neither tree nor shrub. The evening came -and they spent the night near the river Ameles, whose water can be -contained in no vessel. Every soul was obliged to drink some of its -water. They fell asleep; but at about midnight the thunder roared, and -all the souls suddenly waking up were dispersed, like shooting stars, -towards the various places where they were to commence their new life. - -"As to Her, he had been forbidden to drink of the water of the Lethe -river; nevertheless, he knew not in what manner his soul had returned -into his body, but having opened his eyes in the morning, he had seen -that he was laying on a wood-pile. - -"This tradition, my dear Glaucon, has been handed down to us; and if we -believe it, it is very apt to save us; we will safely cross the Lethe -river, and we will preserve our soul free from stain." - -The reader has undoubtedly remarked the last sentence of this extract, -which proves the antiquity of the doctrine of the transmigration of the -souls. Burnet wrote, that it was so ancient and so universally spread in -Egypt, Persia, India, and other countries of the Orient, that it seemed -it had descended from heaven, and been believed by the first inhabitants -of the earth. Herodote found it established in Egypt in the remotest -ages. It was the basis of the theology of the Indians, and the subject -of the celebrated Metamorphosis and incarnations of their legends. -Metempsychosis has been immemorially believed in Japan, where the -people, even in our days, according to Koempsfer, abstain from meat, and -live exclusively upon fruits and vegetables. In Siam, where the -Talapoins or monks hold it as a sacred dogma; in China by the Tao-See; -also among the Kalbouls and the Mongols, and among the Thibetans, who -admit that the souls pass even into the plants, into the trees, and even -into the roots. However, the Thibetans believe that it is only by -uniting to human bodies, that the souls can, after successive changes, -be restored to their former purity. - -The aim of the doctrine of Metempsychosis was to accustom man to detach -himself from the gross matter, to which he is tied here below, and to -excite in him the desire of promptly returning there, wherefrom he had -formerly descended. The rulers of the people frightened them with the -pictures of humiliating transformations of their souls, as the Catholic -priests and the Partialist preachers do among us, with their teaching of -an endless hell. The people, amazed and terrified, for the masses were -ignorant, believed all those politico-religious fables. They firmly -believed that the souls of the wicked passed into vile bodies; that they -were punished with cruel and loathesome diseases; that those who did not -reform after a certain number of transmigrations were delivered up to -the Furies and to the evil spirits (or devils) to be tortured; and that, -after that, they were sent again to the earth, as in a new school, and -were obliged to run a new race. Thus we see that the whole system of -Metempsychosis rested on the false supposition, that it was necessary, -in order to govern the people here below, to frighten them with absurd -and visionary tales of atrocious tortures beyond the grave, which were -the more terrifying for the very reason of their absurdity and -atrociousness. - -Timee of Locre, one of the disciples of Socrates, wrote, that among the -various means of governing those who are not able to reach the truth of -the principles, on which nature has established justice and morals, -Metempsychosis is an efficacious one. He said: "Let them be taught those -dogmas which inform us that the souls of effeminate and pusillanimous -men transmigrate into female bodies; those of murderers into bodies of -wild beasts; those of licentious men into bodies of wild boars and hogs; -those of fickle and inconstant men into bodies of birds; those of idle, -ignorant and silly men into bodies of fishes. The just Nemesis regulates -those pains in the future life conjointly with the gods of the earth, -avengers of the crimes they have witnessed. The supreme God has -entrusted them with the government of this inferior world. Let them be -frightened, even, by the religious terrors conveyed to the soul by those -discourses which describe the vengeance of the celestial gods, and the -unavoidable torments reserved to the criminals in the Tartarus; and also -by the other fictions which Homer has found in the ancient sacred -opinions. Sometimes the body is cured by poisonous substances; so the -souls can be ruled by fables when they cannot be governed by truth." - -This philosopher plainly gives us his secret, which has been, and still -is, the secret of all legislators and priests. True, the belief of these -fables has restrained many from vice and crime; nevertheless we firmly -believe that men ought to be led to justice by the bright light of the -truth, and not by the dismal light of error, and of superstition: the -one elevates man, but the other keeps him in an eternal infancy and -ignorance. How sad it is to see, even now-a-days, in free and -enlightened America, priests, and Protestant ministers themselves, -keeping down in intellectual, moral and religious bondage, millions of -Christians, who, from fear of endless curse, kiss the very chains which -heavily they drag through life; who believe that God will endlessly -roast men--his children--in an undying fire! More surely, and more -easily, could those purely minded, but unfortunate Christians, be guided -to love God, if they knew that he is not worse than a tiger; that, on -the contrary, he is truly good and loving; more virtuous they would be -if they were taught that virtue is the source, and the only true source, -of happiness. Truer fraternity would reign in our communities, if -priests and pretended Protestants, who tyrannize over the souls of their -misled victims, and, like the Pharisees of old, lay upon their shoulders -a burden they would not be willing to touch with their own -fingers--yea, they lay upon their mind and heart the leaden weight of -the dogma of endless misery, which they, at least the leaders of the -leaders, reject--truer fraternity would exist, we say, for there would -not be in our communities, a class of Christians, believing that they -are the elect of God for righteousness and eternal bliss, while all the -others shall be endlessly damned. Hence their indifference, or rather -aversion for them; hence a spirit of Pharisaism: hence a spirit of -religious aristocracy, which unfortunately ramifies into a social -aristocracy! - - -ARTICLE II. - -_Tartarus._ - -When legislators, priests and philosophers had invented the doctrine of -Metempsychosis, the mystagogues and the poets took hold of it, and -endeavored to spread it among the people, in consecrating it, the ones -in their chants, and the others in the celebration of their mysteries. -They clothed it with the charms of poetry, and presented it with magical -illusions. All united to deceive the people, under the specious pretext -of bettering and governing them with a surer hand. The widest field was -opened to fictions; and the genius of the poets, as well as the cunning -of the priests, were inexhaustible in portraying the bliss of the -righteous hereafter, and the horror of the horrible prisons wherein -crime was to be punished. - -Each one portrayed them according to his own fancy, and added new scenes -and views to the descriptions of those unknown lands; of that world of -new creation, which the imagination of poets peopled with shadows, -chimeras and phantoms, for the purpose of frightening the people: for -rulers wrongly thought that their minds could not rise up to the -abstract notions of metaphysics and morals. The Elysium and the Tartarus -were more pleasing and more vividly striking to the imagination of the -people: therefore darkness and light were successively presented to the -gaze of those initiated to the mysteries. To the darkest night, and to -frightful spectres, succeeded a bright day, whose light shone around the -statue of the Deity: one could not help feeling a mysterious terror, -when entering that sanctuary, where all was disposed to represent the -Tartarus and the Elysium. It was in this sanctuary that the one -initiated, being finally introduced, saw the picture of charming -meadows, lighted by a pure sky: there he heard harmonious voices, and -the majestic chants of sacred choirs. It was then that, entirely free, -and rid of all evils, he joined the multitude of those initiated; and -that, a crown of flowers on his head, he celebrated the holy orgies. - -Thus the ancients represented here below, in their initiations, what -was, they said, to happen hereafter to the souls, when they would be -disengaged from their bodies; and would be liberated from the obscure -prison, wherein fate had chained them by uniting them to terrestrial -matter. In the mysteries of Isis, of which we hold the details from -Apuleo, the candidate passed through the dark region of the empire of -the dead; thence into a vast enclosure, which represented the elements; -and then he was admitted into the bright region, where the brightest sun -succeeded to the darkness of the night, namely, in the three worlds, the -terrestrial, the elementary, and the celestial. He who had been -initiated said: "I have approached the boundaries of death in treading -the thresh hold of Proserpine; therefrom I have returned through the -elements. Then I saw a bright light, and I found myself in the presence -of the gods." This was the autopsy. - -What mystagogy exhibited in the sanctuaries, poets, and even -philosophers, in their fictions, publicly taught to the people: hence -the descriptions of the Elysium and of the Tartarus found in Homer, -Virgil and Plato, and all those given us by many systems of theology. We -never had a description of the earth and of its inhabitants, a -description as complete as that transmitted to us, by the ancients, -about those countries of new creation, known under the names of Hell, -Tartarus, and Elysium. Those men, whose geographical knowledge was so -limited, have given us the minutest details of the abode of the souls -beyond the grave; of the government of each one of the two empires, -which form the domain of the shadows; of their habits; of their diet; of -their pains and pleasures; and even of the costume of the inhabitants -of these two regions. The same poetical imagination which had invented -that new world, arbitrarily traced out its plan and distribution. - -Socrates, in the Phaedo of Plato, a work intended to prove the -immortality of our soul, and the necessity of practicing virtue, speaks -of the place where the souls go after death. He imagines a sort of -ethereal land, superior to the one we inhabit, and situated in a sunnier -region. There is nothing on our earth that can compare to the beauties -of this wonderful abode. There colors are brighter, the vegetation -richer; the trees, flowers and fruits are infinitely superior to those -of our earth. There precious stones are so bright that those of our -earth are but their shadow. This ethereal land is strewed with pearls of -the purest crystal; everywhere gold and silver are dazzling. There -beasts are more beautiful, and more perfectly organized than ours. There -the air is the sea, and ether is the air. There seasons are so -harmoniously combined, that the fortunate inhabitants are not subject to -infirmities and to diseases. There the temples are inhabited by the gods -themselves, who familiarly converse with men. The inmates of this -delightful mansion are the only ones who see the sun, the moon, and the -stars, as they truly are. - -To this Socrates adds, that men, who, here below, distinguish themselves -for their piety and exactitude in discharging their social duties, will -be admitted in this abode of happiness when death destroys their mortal -form. There all those whom philosophy has led to wisdom will dwell. -Socrates concludes thus: - -Then it is for us a strong inducement to study wisdom, and to practice -virtue, while we are on earth. These expectations are high enough for us -to risk the chances of this opinion, and not to break its charms. - -This is a plain avowal of the motive of the fiction: such is the secret -of nearly all legislators, and the deceitfulness of the most renowned -philosophers. - -The second part of the land of the dead, called Tartarus, the leaders of -the people also minutely described. According to their description, this -abode of the wicked presents the horrid view of precipices, caverns, and -abysses, more frightful than those we see on earth. Those caverns -communicate to each other in the profundities of the earth, through the -medium of sinuosities vast and dark, and of subterraneous canals, in -which waters flow; the ones cold, and the others warm: also in several -of those canals flow torrents of fire, and in others the filthiest mire. -The vastest of those caverns is in the center; and into it four main -rivers ebb, to spring out again. The first is the Acheron, which forms -beneath the earth a shoreless marsh, wherein the souls assemble. The -second is the Pyriphlegeton, which rolls torrents of burning sulphur. -The third is the Cocyte; and the fourth is the Styx. - -In this horrible abode divine justice tortures the criminals. At the -gate of the Tartarus the frightful Tisiphon, whose gown is reeking with -blood, watches day and night. The gate is also defended by a strong -tower, backed by three walls, which are surrounded by the burning waves -of the Phlegeton river, that rolls huge stones on fire. There are -incessantly heard the rattle of chains dragged by wretched victims; -their groans; and the strokes of lashes that tear their flesh. There is -seen an hydra with a hundred heads, whose mouths are ever gaping for new -victims to be devoured. There a vulture is constantly feeding on the -ever re-growing entrails of a criminal. Other victims carry a heavy rock -to the summit of a mountain, where they must set it; but, vain are their -efforts, it rolls down to the bottom of the valley. Other criminals, -tied to a wheel, relentlessly revolving, are not permitted the slightest -rest in their torture. Others, placed near refreshing waters, and near -trees loaded with fruit, are ever devoured with unquenchable thirst and -hunger. If they stoop to drink the water flies from their mouth, and a -stinking mire sticks to their lips. If they lower a limb to cull a -fruit, the limb slips from their hand. - -Farther, fifty female victims are forced to fill up with water a cask, -whose bottom is riddled. Indeed, there is no sort of torment that was -not invented by legislators, mystagogues, poets, and philosophers, to -frighten the people, under the false assumption of making them better; -but the truth is that it was rather to keep them down in subjection. -Those terrifying pictures were painted on the walls of the temple of -Delphos. Those fables were repeated to infants by nurses and mothers. -Thus their souls grew weak and pusillanimous, for strong and durable are -the first impressions, and more especially, when the general opinion, -the example of the credulity of others, the authority of philosophers, -of poets, of learned Hierophants, and the sight of pompous rites, and -ceremonies in the overpowering sacredness of sanctuaries; when the -monuments of arts, music, statues, and pictures, in short, when all -tends to insinuate in the soul, through the senses stricken with hope -and terror, a great error presented as a sacred truth revealed by the -gods themselves for man's bliss. - -Such was the general teaching and belief of the Pagans in regard to -future punishment, before the coming of Jesus Christ, and the preaching -of his Gospel. - -As to the Jewish nation, not the slightest vestiges of any kind of -belief regarding future punishment, can be traced out, neither in the -Old Testament, nor in Josephus, nor in the writings of other historians, -at least before the captivity of Babylon, which took place in the year -598 before the Christian era. Afterwards the Jews divided into four -sects, the Essenes, the Sadducees, the Samaritans, who denied the -existence of any future punishment, and the Pharisees, who, according to -the testimony of Josephus, adopted the belief of Metempsychosis, or -transmigration of the souls. - - -ARTICLE III. - -_Did the Christians of the First Centuries believe in Endless Hell?_ - -We emphatically answer, no. If the Christian Fathers of the first -centuries, have neither taught the dogma of endless hell, nor mentioned, -in their writings, that their fellow-Christians knew or believed it, and -if the same is proved by the testimony of the then existing Christian -sects or denominations, it is evident that the first Christians did not -believe in endless hell. But the Christian Fathers of the first -centuries have neither taught the dogma of endless hell, nor mentioned, -in their writings, that their fellow-Christians knew or believed it; and -the same is proved by the testimony of the then existing Christian -sects. These two members of the proposition we are to successively -prove: 1st _member_: In the first century the four Gospels, and other -books of the New Testament were written by the apostles, but history -does not inform us of any other Christian writing, or author, in that -age, except perhaps Clement, bishop of Rome, who, it is said, has left a -letter to the Corinthians: critics call it Apocryphal. We have not read -it. Therefore in order to know whether the first Christians believed in -endless hell or not, we must recur to the works of the Christian Fathers -who lived and wrote in the following centuries, and particularly to -those who lived and wrote during the second. - -St. Ignatius, bishop of Antioch, who suffered martyrdom at Rome, in the -year 107, was the first apostolic Father of the second century. There -are in the collection of the works of the holy Fathers, six letters -ascribed to him by some authors; some others, Saumaise, Blondel, Daille, -etc., say that they are apocryphal. Mosheim, in his Histor. Christ., -says, that it is doubtful whether they are of Ignatius or not. We have -read those six letters, of which five are addressed to different -Churches, and one to Polycarpus. Although they treat of the most -important points of the Christian faith and duties, they are silent upon -the question of endless hell. In the year 131, St. Quadratus presented -to the emperor Adrian an apology of the Christian religion, which -contained the principal Christian doctrines. Adrian was so pleased with -this apology, that, if we must believe what Lampride says in his Life of -Alexander Severus, he designed to rear a temple to Jesus Christ, and to -place him among the gods of the empire. A fragment of this apology can -be found in the works of Eusebe; but not a word is said about the dogma -of endless hell. - -St. Justin, a Platonician philosopher, was born at Naplouse, Palestine, -in 103. He was converted to Christianity in 133. He wrote the following -works: Exhortation to Gentiles; two Apologies of the Christian religion, -the one to the emperor Antonine, and the other to the emperor -Marcus-Aurelius; a Dialogue with the Jew Triphon; a treatise on -Monarchy, or Unity of God; and an Epistle to Diognet, in which he states -the reasons why Christians left the worship of the gods, and did not -adopt that of the Jews. He composed other works, but they exist no more. -The main editions of his works are those of Robert Etienne in 1551 and -1771, in Greek and Latin; that of Commelin in 1593, in Greek and Latin; -that of Morel in 1656, and that of Don Marand in 1742, in folio. All -these editions, and afterwards that of Migne, we have compared in the -voluminous library of the theological seminary of Brou, France, where we -have been ordained a priest. Although there were alterations of the -text, we did not find any passage referring to the dogma of endless -hell. True, addressing the Romans, he says: "Come, O Romans, to find -instruction! Formerly I was like you, now be what I am. The power of the -Christian religion has enlightened me, and freed me from servitude to my -senses and passions: it has afforded me peace and serenity. The soul -thus free is sure to reunite to her Creator, because it is right that -she return to him from whom she emanated." But this passage neither -explicitly nor implicitly supposes that he believed, or that the first -Christians believed, in endless hell; it is simply a Platonician and -Christian doctrine, in regard to the purity of our soul which is worthy -of God only when unstained. However Bailly, a Catholic theologian, says -that on page 74 of the first Apology there is a passage proving his -belief in endless hell. We did not find it. - -Meliton, bishop of Sardes, Lybia, under the reign of Marcus-Aurelius, -presented to this emperor an Apology of the Christian religion, in 171. -Eusebe and several other authors praise it. Only a few fragments of it -are found in the Bibliotheca Patrum; in none of them is a question of -the dogma of endless hell. - -Athenagoras, a Platonician philosopher, was converted to the Christian -religion, and presented, in 177, an Apology of the Christian doctrines -to the emperors Marcus-Aurelius and Lucius-Aurelius-Commode. He -justified the Christians, who were charged by the Pagans with atheism: -with sacrificing and eating a child in their assemblies; and with -indulging to impudicity. In this Apology he ascribed to God but a -general providence; and he expressed the Platonician opinion, that -angels, or spirits, had the government of this world. He admitted that -there were pains and rewards in the future life. Let us not infer from -this that he referred to the dogma of endless hell. No; he merely meant, -by those pains and rewards, the Platonician doctrine about -Metempsychosis. - -Ireneus was born in Greece, in 140. He became bishop of Lyons, Gaul. He -wrote several theological works in the Greek language. He believed in a -general judgment, and in the millenium, namely, in a temporal kingdom of -Jesus Christ on earth, which was to last one thousand years immediately -before the general judgment. During this reign of Jesus Christ, the -Christians were to enjoy a happiness which was to be a foretaste of the -happiness they should enjoy after the general judgment. Not only this -Father did not teach the dogma of endless hell, but according to the -ultramontane Bergier, he has been charged by the pretended Orthodox -divines with having expressed himself in an heterodox manner upon the -divinity of the Word; upon the spirituality of the angels and of the -human soul; upon free agency and the necessity of grace; and upon the -state of the souls after death. He seemed to be inclined to believe -Metempsychosis--this, however, is our private opinion, resting on his -general views on the state of the souls after death. The Catholics -invoke but one passage of his writings against this opinion. Grabe, a -Protestant, published at Oxford, in 1702, an edition of his works; it is -quite different from the Catholic editions. - -Theophile was promoted to the episcopal see of Antioch, in 168. We have -from his pen but three Books to Autolic; they have been edited by Don -Prudent Marand. He is the first Father who used the word Trinity. His -works are a refutation of Paganism, and an apology of Christianism. We -could not find in them the dogma of endless hell; he only vaguely -speaks of rewards and pains hereafter. - -We have seen that the above Fathers, who compose the complete list of -the Fathers of the second century, neither taught the dogma of endless -hell, nor have recorded that the first Christians held such a dogma. -Therefore we may draw the conclusion that the first Christians did not -believe the doctrine of endless hell. - -We pass to the Fathers of the third century. Titus Flavius Clement, of -Alexandria, a Platonician philosopher, became a Christian, and succeeded -to Pantenus, a professor of the school of Alexandria, in 190; and he -died in 217. Alexander of Jerusalem and the celebrated Origen were his -disciples. He wrote many works, the principal thereof are: Exhortations -to Pagans; his Pedagogue; his Hypotyposes; and his Stromatas, which are -divided into eight books. It is said that the best edition of his works -is that of Potter, published at Oxford, in 1715, in two vols. folio. I -read only the Paris edition, published in 1696. In his Exhortations to -Pagans, he pointed out the absurdity of idolatry, and of the fables of -Paganism. In his Stromatas he compared the doctrines of the philosophers -with those of Jesus Christ. In the treatise headed, Which rich man will -be saved? he shows that he who will use his riches properly will obtain -salvation: he does not say salvation from endless hell. His Pedagogue is -a treatise of morals in which he relates how the first Christians -righteously lived and fervently served the Lord. In all these works it -is not a question of the dogma of endless hell, either taught to the -Christians or believed by them. - -According to Le Clerc, Beausobre, d'Argens, Barbeyrac, Scultet, Daille, -Mosheim, Brucker, Semler, etc., this Father did not believe the -spirituality of God and of man's soul.... It is a fact that, in his -Stromatas, he says that God is composed of a body and of a soul, and -that so is our soul. He believed in the Pagan fable that the angels had -sexual intercourse with human females, and had begotten giants; he -refers probably to the Giants who had fought against the Titans. All the -Catholic theologians themselves admit the above, and say, that, though a -Christian, he was too much of a Platonician philosopher. This is the -reason why the Pope, Benedict XIV., opposed his worship, as a saint, in -the Romish Church. These statements show how far this Father was from -holding the dogma of endless hell. - -Tertullian was one of the Fathers who wrote at the end of the second -century; however, as he died in 216, we class him among the Fathers of -the beginning of the third century. His works are on Prayer, on Baptism; -also he wrote Exhortation to Patience; two Books to his Wife; Testimony -of the Soul; treatises on Spectacles and Idolatry; treatise on -Prescription; two books against the Gentiles; one against the Jews; one -against Hermogenes; one against the Valentinians; one against the -Gnostics; one on the Crown; one to Scapula; books against Praxeas; books -on Pudicity, on Persecutions, on Fast, against the Physics, on Monogamy. -These works we had not the advantage to read; but we have studied the -following in our theological school: his treatise on Penance; his five -books against Marcion; his treatise on the Flesh of Jesus Christ; his -book on the Resurrection of the Flesh; and his Apology of the Christian -Religion. - -In these works which, let this be cursorily said, were written in Latin, -for Tertullian was the first Father who wrote in this language, we read -several times the word _infernus_, synonimous to _Tartarus_, and the -words _ignem eternum_, used in speaking of pains, which will be -inflicted upon the wicked after the general judgment; but nothing -positive in regard to the duration of the punishment, for he might have -used the adjective _aeternum_ hyperbolically; nor anything in regard to -the belief of the first Christians in regard to it, nor even of his -contemporaneous Christians. If the dogma of endless hell had been -generally believed by the Christians, he would have certainly mentioned -it in his Apology of the Christian Religion; for one of the main charges -of the Pagans against them was that they were Atheists; and thereby -denied the Elysium and the Tartarus. However, in no one of the fifty -arguments which compose the Apology does he say a word about endless -hell, even about any punishment beyond the grave. He only, in the -forty-eighth argument, says, that there will be a resurrection of the -flesh. - -Sextus Julius Africanus, a Christian historian, who wrote in the -beginning of the third century, is altogether silent about the dogma of -endless hell, at least in the fragments of his works which have been -preserved by Eusebe. - -Origen was born at Alexandria, in 185. He has been one of the most -talented and learned among the Fathers. He wrote the following works: -Exhortation to Martyrdom; Commentaries on the Holy Scriptures. He -undertook an edition of the Bible in six columns, and headed it -Hexaples. The first column contained the Hebrew text in hebraic letters; -the second, the same text in Greek letters; the third contained the -version of Aquila; the fourth column, the version of Symmaque; the -fifth, that of the Septuagint; and the sixth, that of Theodotion. He -considered the version of the Septuagint as the most authentical. The -Octaples contained, also, two Greek versions, which had been recently -found, and whose authors were unknown. He wrote more than one thousand -sermons; he wrote his celebrated work about Principles, and a treatise -against Celse. - -All the above works have not been transmitted to us entire, though the -most of them are, as can be seen in the Bibliotheca Sanctorum Patrum, -published in Paris, in 1826. This Catholic edition, we positively know, -is not as impartial as it ought to be. So much has been written, for -centuries, against Origen and for his justification, that a mere -summary of those writings would fill volumes. Besides, would we make -this summary we might perhaps be suspected of partiality, because -Origen's doctrines are favorable to the bearing of this work; therefore -we shall extract from the works of Feller, a Romish priest and a Jesuit, -what we have to write about his accusation and justification, and about -the summary of his doctrines. - -Feller says, Article Origen: "In the fourth century, the Arians invoked -his authority to prove that Jesus Christ was not God. St. Athanase, St. -Basile, and St. Gregory of Nazianze, defended him. Hilaire, Tite de -Bostres, Didyme, Ambrosius, Eusebe of Verceil, and Gregory of Nysse have -laudably spoken of his works; whereas, Theodor of Mopsueste, Apollinary, -and Cesary, have disparagingly written of them. Origen was condemned in -the fifth general council, held at Constantinople, in 553. The pope -Vigil condemned him anew. St. Epiphane, Anastase the Sinaite, St. John -Climaque, Leonce of Byzantium, Sophronius, patriarch of Jerusalem, and -Antipater, bishop of Bostres, violently denounced his writings; the pope -Pelage II. said that heretical works were not worse than Origen's -writings. There are, in the acts of the sixth council, an edict of the -emperor Constantine Pogonat, and a letter of the pope Leon II., in which -he is counted with Didyme and Evagrius among the Theomaques, or enemies -of God. - -"The pope St. Martin I., anathematized him in the first council of -Latran, in 649. St. Augustine, St. John of Damas, and St. Jerome, wrote -against the Origenists, namely, the sect of Christians who believed the -doctrines of Origen. In the same century, when a dispute arose about the -orthodoxy of Origen, John of Jerusalem, and Rufin made his apology, and -St. John Chrysostomus did the same. St. Pamphyle also took his part. -Theotime of Tomi refused to condemn him, and Didyme tried to give an -orthodox meaning to his doctrine on Trinity; others in condemning the -errors contained in his books pretended that they had been added by the -heretics. Theophile of Alexandria accused the monks of Nitria of -Origenism, and condemned them in a council held at Alexandria; the pope -Anastasius ratified the sentence. In the seventh century, the emperor -Justinian declared himself hostile to the memory of Origen; wrote a -letter to Memnas against his doctrine; issued an edict against him, in -640; and obtained his condemnation in a council held the same year at -Constantinople, whose acts were added to those of the fifth general -council." - -We read in the acts of the fifth general council of Constantinople, held -in 553, that Origen was condemned by the council for having taught the -following doctrines: 1st, That in the dogma of Trinity the Father is -greater than the Son, and the Son greater than the Holy Spirit. 2d, That -human souls have been created before the bodies, to which they have -been chained as a punishment for sins, which they had committed in an -anterior state of existence. 3d, That the soul of Jesus Christ had been -united to the Word before his incarnation. 4th, That the planets and -stars are animated, and contain a soul intelligent and endowed with -reason. 5th, That, after the resurrection, all bodies will have a -spheroidal shape. 6th, _That the punishment of the wicked in a future -life will not be endless_; and that Jesus Christ, who has been crucified -to save the world, will be crucified once more to save the devils. - -According to this testimony of the Romish Church--which carries -fanaticism farther than any other sect, in regard to the dogma of -endless hell, for it holds as an article of faith even that the -reprobates are tortured in hell, in their bodies and in their souls, -though their bodies are in the grave, and though a material fire cannot -burn an immortal soul--according to the above testimony of the Romish -Church, we say, it is an established, an undeniable fact, that Origen -taught the doctrine of Metempsychosis, or transmigration of the souls; -and also the doctrine that the punishment of the wicked in a future life -would not be endless. - -From this testimony we draw the following argument, which we invite the -reader to attentively examine, and to carefully weigh, for this -argument, _alone_, would unanswerably prove that the Christians of the -first, of the second, of the third, and even of the fourth, and of the -fifth centuries, did not generally believe the dogma of endless hell. - -Argument: In the beginning of the third century, Origen (he was born in -185) taught the doctrine of Metempsychosis, or transmigration of the -souls, and the doctrine that the punishment of the wicked in a future -life would not be endless; these two doctrines were condemned only in -the sixth century by the fifth general council held at Constantinople, -in 553, and composed of 151 bishops. But if the Christians of the first, -of the second, of the third, and even of the fourth, and of the fifth -centuries, had generally believed the dogma of endless hell, the above -two doctrines would have certainly been condemned before the sixth -century. This minor proposition we prove: - -By the orders of the bishop of Rome, Sylvester, and of the emperor -Constantine I., an oecumenical council, composed of 381 bishops, was -held at Nice, in 325, to frame a symbol of faith, and to condemn Arius. - -In 381, a second general council, composed of 150 bishops, was held at -Constantinople, to condemn Macedonius, who denied the divinity of the -Holy Spirit; and to alter the symbol of Nice, (striking inconsistency of -the Romish Church which holds as an article of faith that a general -council is infallible in its decisions.) - -In 431, the bishop of Rome, Celestine I., assembled a general council at -Ephesus, to obtain the condemnation of Nestorius, who denied that Mary -was, strictly speaking, the mother of God. - -In 451, a general council was held at Chalcedony, Asia Minor, for the -condemnation of Eutyches, and of Dioscorus, bishop of Alexandria, who -held the doctrine that there was in Jesus Christ but one nature. - -From the beginning of the second century, the time when Origen taught -the above two doctrines, up to the year 553, several thousand synods and -principal councils were held. - -Thereupon we say: The doctrine of Metempsychosis, or transmigration of -the souls; and the doctrine that the punishment of the wicked in a -future life will not be endless, were as important as the most of the -doctrines discussed in those councils; and Origen had a weightier -influence upon the Christian communities by his talents, learning, -virtue, and fame, and by the diffusion of his works, than Arius, -Macedonius, Nestorius, Eutiches, Dioscorus and others put together. -Therefore, if the dogma of endless hell had been generally believed by -the Christians of the first, of the second, of the third, of the fourth, -and of the fifth centuries, the doctrine of Metempsychosis, and the -doctrine that the punishment of the wicked in a future life will not be -endless, held and taught by Origen, would have been called up, -discussed, and condemned in the above councils. But they were called up, -discussed, and condemned, _only_ in the fifth general council, held at -Constantinople, in 553. Therefore, it is an irrefutable fact that the -Christians of the first, of the second, of the third, of the fourth, and -of the fifth centuries, did not generally believe the dogma of endless -hell. - -Gregory of Neocesaree, was a disciple of Origen, and was promoted to the -episcopal see of Neocesaree, in 240. He wrote the following works: -Thanks to Origen, Profession of Faith on the Dogma of Trinity, Canonical -Epistle, and Paraphrase of the Book of Ecclesiastes. In these works the -spirit of the doctrines of Origen is seen at every page; and the dogma -of endless hell is neither taught, nor declared to have been the belief -of the first Christians, nor of the Christians of the third century. St. -Cyprian, made bishop of Carthage in 248, is silent about the dogma of -endless hell. - -We pass to the Fathers of the fourth century. - -Pamphile Eusebe obtained the bishopric of Cesarea in 313. He wrote the -Panegyric, and the Life of Constantine; a Chronicle, viz: a compilation -of Pagan authors, and several other works, whose fragments have -remained. His principal work is his Ecclesiastical History, which we -have studied in our theological school. If the dogma of endless hell had -been the belief of the first Christians, and had been generally believed -in his age, he would have certainly mentioned it therein: however, he -has not. Therefore, the first Christians, and those of his age, did not -hold the dogma of endless hell. - -Athanase succeeded to Alexander on the episcopal see of Alexandria, in -326. His works are: Defense of Trinity and of Incarnation; apologies; -letters; and treatises against the Arians, the Melecians, the -Apollinarists, and the Macedonians. In these works there is not a word -concerning the dogma of endless hell being believed by the first -Christians, or by his contemporaries. The famous symbol which is headed -symbol of Athanase, which the Romish priests read every Sunday in the -Psalms-Breviary, is not from his composition nor from his pen; every one -of the Catholic theologians and authors confesses it. - -Basile, bishop of Cesarea, was born in 329. He has left several letters, -homilies, treatises of morals, and sermons on the six days of the -creation. We have examined the Latin edition of his works, or rather of -the fragments of his works, for they are not entire, by Don Gamier and -Don Prudent; but though in many passages he speaks of salvation, of -eternal bliss, and of the punishment of the wicked hereafter, he does -not positively declare that the punishment will be endless; and he does -not say that the first Christians believed it, nor that it was a dogma -of the Church in his age. Theodor of Mopsueste, who wrote in the fifth -century, is charged by the Catholic writers to have taught that future -punishment will not be endless. - -Since that time, down to the sixth century, the question of the eternal -duration of the punishment of the wicked in a place called hell, was -discussed by the ecclesiastical writers, who, nevertheless, did not -assert that it was the belief of the first Christians. Ambrosius -supposed that it would be infinite in duration; so Augustine, his -disciple, wrote in his work, De Civitate Dei, book 21; St. Fulgence; the -pope Gregorius, etc. The opinion of those leading doctors was preached, -and, little by little, it became the belief of a large number of -Christians. They even designated the place where hell was: some thought -it was in the profundities of the earth; Augustine opposed them; then he -recanted himself, and agreed that it was there. Finally, in 553, a -general council was held in Constantinople, and it was decided that the -dogma of endless hell shall be henceforth an article of faith. It was -only many years after that this council was considered oecumenical. - -We have proved by the testimony of the Fathers themselves, that the -Christians of the first, of the second, of the third, of the fourth, and -of the fifth centuries, did not believe the dogma of endless hell; we -shall now prove it by the various Christian sects, which existed, and -were organized religious denominations, in those centuries. - -Lest we might be suspected of partiality in the exposition of the belief -of those Christian sects in regard to future punishment, we will -_exclusively_ make our extracts from the works of Bergier, Feller, and -other Catholic theologians and historians. - -The Cerinthians did not believe the doctrine of endless hell. The -Basilidians believed in Metempsychosis, or transmigration of the souls. -In consequence they did not hold the dogma of endless hell. Eusebe -informs us, in his Ecclesiastical History, that Basilide had written on -the four Gospels twenty-four books; and that his sect was numerous. It -flourished till the fourth century. - -The Millenaries, who existed mainly in the second and third centuries, -believed that Jesus Christ would soon come from heaven, to reign one -thousand years over the righteous; that this reign would be temporal; -and that it would be followed by a general judgment: but they did not -hold that future punishment would be endless, for they were silent about -its nature. - -The Marcionites believed in a good principle, God, and in a bad one, the -Devil; the latter had created our body. Jesus Christ had but an apparent -flesh. Our body should not come again to life; they believed like -Pythagoras, of whom Marcion was a follower, in the doctrine of -Metempsychosis: such was their belief. They made so many proselytes, -that, even in the fifth century, their sect was numerous in Italy, in -Egypt, in Palestine, in Syria, in Arabia, in Persia, and in other -oriental countries. - -The Valentinians held that Jesus Christ was not God; that he had -redeemed the world only from sin, by freeing men of the empire of evil -Eons, or geniuses, who had the government of the universe. They believed -in the doctrine of Metempsychosis, or transmigration of the souls. In -consequence, they neither knew nor believed the dogma of endless hell. -Valentin had an immense number of disciples, and his sect spread in -Asia, and in Africa; in Europe it extended as far as Gaul, where, -according to the testimony of Ireneus, bishop of Lyons, the Valentinians -were very numerous. - -The Marcosians formed a numerous religious body towards the end of the -second century. Their sect spread as far as Gaul. They believed the -doctrine of Metempsychosis. - -The Theodotians and the Artemonians, in the second century, professed -that Jesus Christ was not God, and believed in Metempsychosis. - -The Carpocratians believed in the pre-existence of the souls, and taught -that they had sinned in an anterior state of existence; that, as a -punishment for those crimes, they had been condemned to animate other -bodies, and would pass into other bodies as long as they would not have -been sufficiently purified by this expiation. They denied the divinity -of Jesus Christ, and the belief of the resurrection of the body. -Carpocrate, of Alexandria, founded this sect in the second century. - -The Docetes professed the same belief as the Carpocratians, with the -difference that they did not admit that Jesus Christ had a natural body. -They had exactly the same belief in regard to Metempsychosis. This sect -existed in the second century. The Patripassians, the Noetians, the -Praxeans, and the Sabellians have been silent on the dogma of endless -hell. - -Tatian, one of the most prominent ecclesiastical writers of the second -century, established the sect of the Tatianists, who believed that Jesus -Christ had not really suffered, and that he had not redeemed the world -by his blood. They also held the doctrine of Metempsychosis. Of the many -works of Tatian we have only his Discourse against the Pagans, and his -Diatessaron. - -Apelles established a sect of his name, in 145. The Apellites denied the -resurrection of the body; believed in Metempsychosis; and also that God -had entrusted a spirit of fire to create the world. - -In the second century, Montan, a native of Ardaban, in Mysia, -established the sect of the Montanists, which split and ramified into -the Artotyrites, the Ascites, Ascodrutes, etc. They all believed the -doctrine of Metempsychosis. - -The Ophites, a sect of the second century, professed that the world had -been created, and was governed by evil Eons or geniuses, and that God -had sent Jesus Christ, his Son, to oppose the evil geniuses. They held -the doctrine of Metempsychosis. - -In the second century the sect of the Cainites denied the resurrection -of the body, and believed in Metempsychosis. - -The above sects compose the large body of Christians in the second -century; and yet we do not find in their doctrines anything like the -dogma of endless hell. They all, except perhaps the Millenaries, -believed in the doctrine of Metempsychosis. And as those extracts are -from Roman Catholic authors, who had the greatest interest in disguising -the true doctrines of those sects, it follows that it is an undeniable -fact, that the Christians of the second century neither did believe nor -knew any thing about such a dogma as endless hell. - -_Corollary._ Since the Christians of the second century neither believed -the dogma of endless hell, nor knew anything about it, therefore the -Christians of the first century neither believed this dogma, nor knew -anything about it; for had they believed it, or known any thing about -it, the Christians of the second century would have preserved that -belief, or at least would have mentioned it. Consequently, it is an -undeniable fact that the Christians of the first century were not taught -by the apostles the dogma of endless hell. - -Let us examine, now, the doctrines of the various Christian sects, which -sprung up in the third century. - -Tertullian, one of the Fathers of whom we have spoken above, had joined -the Montanist sect; but afterwards he disagreed with them, and he -founded, at about the fifth year of the third century, another sect, -called Tertullianists. This sect lived several centuries, for in the -time of St. Augustine, towards the end of the fourth century, they had a -denominational organization at Carthage, Africa. Probably they held the -same belief as Tertullian, in regard to the dogma of endless hell. - -The Hermogenians believed that the earth and the whole universe have -been uncreated, and are eternal. Hermogene said: "God has either taken -evil from himself, or from nothing, or from a pre-existing matter. He -could not take evil from himself, for he is indivisible; and, besides, -evil could not abide in a being infinitely perfect. He could not take -evil from nothing, for in this case it would have been in his power not -to produce it; therefore, evil is derived from a matter pre-existing, -co-eternal to God, and the defects of which God could not amend." The -Hermogenians believed in Metempsychosis. Their sect spread more -particularly in Galatia. - -Berylle, bishop of Ostres, in Arabia, established, in 207, the sect of -the Arabics. They believed that the soul was born and died with the -body, and that both would come again to life. Origen wrote against this -belief, and converted the most of them to his opinions. As Origen -thought and taught that the punishment of the wicked would not be -endless, and that the souls transmigrated, we may safely conclude that -the Arabics embraced his opinions. - -The Novatians were organized into a sect by Novat and Novatian, priests -of the Church of Carthage. We have perused the treatises on Trinity and -on the Viands, written by Novatian, whose fragments are found in the -works of Tertullian; but we have found no opinion expressed in regard to -the dogma of endless hell. We heard since that there is a complete -edition of his works, published in 1728, by Jackson, at London: we have -not been able to obtain it. - -According to the testimony of Epiphane, the Valesians held many of the -doctrines of the Gnostics. From this we may safely infer that they -believed in Metempsychosis. Tillemont, in his Memoirs for the -Ecclesiastical History, tome 3d, says that the Valesians sprung up in -240. St. Epiphane and Tillemont are the only authors who have referred -to them in their writings. - -The Samosatians, whose chief was Paul of Samosate, Patriarch of Antioch, -professed that the three persons of the Trinity were not three Gods, but -three attributes, under which God has manifested himself to men; that -Jesus Christ was not a God, but a man to whom wisdom had been -extraordinarily given. We did not find any thing in the Ecclesiastical -History in regard to their doctrines about future punishment. However, -as they considered Jesus Christ only as an extraordinary man, it is most -probable that they kept the immemorially, and, even then, generally -believed doctrine of Metempsychosis. This sect was established in 260. -The famous Zenobia, who then reigned in Syria, and believed the Jewish -religion, was converted to this sect. - -Manes was born in Persia, in 240. He was the father of the sect of the -Manicheans. We shall give a summary of their doctrines, and as their -sect has been one of the most numerous, one of the most widely spread, -and one whose denominational organization seems to have outlived nearly -all those of the first centuries, we will add a summary of their -history. We will find in their doctrines, and in their history, a -weighty proof that the dogma of endless hell was not generally believed -by the Christians of the first five centuries, to say the least. - -To remove the least shadow of doubt about our impartiality, we continue, -as done before, to take our extracts from Roman Catholic authors, who -had an interest to make it appear that the dogma of endless hell was -co-eval to the apostles. - -We extract from Cotelier, a Roman Catholic author, tome 1, of the -Apostolic Fathers, page 543, and following, these doctrines of the -Manicheans: - -In their opinion, the souls, or spirits, are an emanation from the good -spirit, whom they considered as an uncreated light; and all bodies have -been formed by the bad principle, whom they called Satan, and the power -of darkness. They held that there are portions of light enclosed within -all the bodies of the universe, and that they give them motion and life, -wherefore those souls cannot reunite to the good principle, except when -they have been purified by the means of various transmigrations from one -body into another. They denied the future resurrection of the body. - -It is therefore evident that the Manicheans either knew nothing about -the dogma of endless hell, or did not believe it. - -From the year 285 to the year 491, the Manicheans were persecuted. The -emperors of Orient confiscated their property, and decreed the penalty -of death against them. Thousands of them died in the most cruel -tortures, rather than to give up their faith; we read even in our days, -in the Theodosian code, the laws enacted against them. Despite those -persecutions they rapidly and widely spread. In the fourth century St. -Augustine was converted to their sect, but he afterwards left them, and -became their most powerful opponent. They formed a large body in Africa. -In 491, the mother of the emperor Anastase, who was a Manichean, -obtained the suspension of the laws enacted against them. They were -allowed, during twenty-seven years, to have churches, and to freely -worship; but during the reign of Justin, and under his successors, they -were again forbidden it. Towards the end of the seventh century, the -famous Gallinice, who was a Manichean, brought up her two sons, Paul and -John, in her belief, and sent them to Armenia as missionaries. Paul made -so many proselytes that the new converts took the name of Paulicians. - -In the beginning of the ninth century the Paulicians split; but soon -after they reunited, at the persuasion of one of their most influential -members, named Theodote. The aversion of the Manicheans for the worship -of the virgin Mary, of the cross, of the saints, and of images, pleased -the Saracens, who made frequent irruptions in the empire: through their -influence they obtained more credit among their opponents. - -In the year 841, the empress Theodora, who had declared herself in favor -of the worship of the virgin Mary, of the cross, of the saints, and of -images, went so far in her fanatical zeal for this doctrine, that she -resolved to exterminate the Manicheans, and their religion. By her -orders more than one hundred thousand of them were arrested and put to -death; nearly all expired in the most cruel tortures. Then the -Manicheans sought a refuge among the Saracens; they retired in fortified -towns, repelled the repeated assaults of the imperial armies, and -maintained themselves during about forty years; but having been defeated -in a great battle they were forced to disperse. - -Some went to Bulgaria, and since took the name of Bulgarians; others -went to Italy, and mainly settled in Lombardy, wherefrom they sent -missionaries to France, to Germany, and to other countries. In the year -1022, under the king Robert, several canons of Orleans, who had joined -the Manicheans, were burnt alive. Although the penalty of death had been -decreed against the Manicheans, they established a large number of -convents all over France, and particularly in the provinces of Provence, -of Languedoc, and, more especially, in the diocese of Albi, where they -took the name of Albigenses. - -Alanus, monk of Citeaux, and Peter, monk of Vaux-Cernay, who wrote -against them, accused them, 1st, of admitting two principles or -creators, the one good and the other bad; the first, creator of -invisible and spiritual things, and the second, creator of bodies. 2d, -Of denying the resurrection of the body. 3d, Of denying the Purgatory. -4th, Of denying the utility of prayers for the dead. 5th, Of denying the -pains of hell. 6th, Of believing the transmigration of the souls into -other bodies of men, or of animals, according to the degree of their -guilt in an anterior state of existence, until by successive expiatory -transmigrations they become purified. 7th, Of disbelieving the seven -sacraments. 8th, Of rejecting the worship of the virgin Mary, of the -cross, of the saints, and of images, etc. - -In 1176, the council of Albi, which some authors call council of Lombez, -was held against the Manicheans, who, as said above, were called -Albigenses. In this council they were condemned under the calling of -Good Men. Fleury, who, in the seventy-second book of his Ecclesiastical -History, quotes the acts of the council, ascribes to them the above -doctrines; so does the historian Rainerius; and Bossuet, in the ninth -book of his History of Variations, cites other authors who confirm all -these accusations. The condemnation of the Manicheans, or Albigenses, -was confirmed by the general council of Latran, in 1179. A crusade was -ordered against them by the Pope, Innocent III., and a strict -inquisition was organized. Simon, count of Montford, was appointed, by -the Pope, general-in-chief of the crusaders; then the slaughter -commenced. It lasted eighteen years: the Albigenses, or Manicheans, were -exterminated, a few only secretly found their way to the Alps, where -they concealed themselves, and afterwards united to the Valdenses. -Several hundred thousands were either burnt alive, or tortured on racks, -or put to the sword; all were slain: men, old men, young men, women, -children, and infants; and during those horrible ceremonies of death, -the soldiers of the Pope sung the Veni Creator Spiritus, etc., a hymn of -invocation to the Holy Spirit. - -From the doctrines and history of the Manicheans we draw the following -argument: - -According to the unanimous testimony of the Roman Catholic authors -themselves, from about the middle of the third century to the -thirteenth, the Manicheans composed a numerous body of Christians, and -did not believe the dogma of endless hell. So constant were they in this -disbelief, that they persisted in it till nearly every one of them was -exterminated; therefore it is an undeniable historical fact that this -large denomination of Christians did not hold the dogma of hell, in the -third, fourth, fifth, etc., centuries. - -Let us examine the doctrine of the Christian sects, which sprung up in -the fourth century, in regard to endless hell. We continue to take our -extracts from Roman Catholic authors. - -Priscillian, a Spaniard, was the founder of the Christian sect of -Priscillianists, in the year 380. This denomination of Christians -believed in the doctrine of Metempsychosis. They held that the souls -passed into the bodies of other men, until they were purified, by their -transmigrations, of the sins they had committed in an anterior life. -They denied the resurrection of human bodies. Priscillian was condemned -to death, and the penalty of death was decreed against the -Priscillianists. The emperor Maxime, and the pope Leon, used fire, -racks, and swords against them; they slew thousands of them, -nevertheless they increased so that they were numerous yet in the sixth -century in Spain and in Italy. Tillemont, in his Ecclesiastical Memoir, -tome 8, refers to Sulpice-Severe, to Ambrosius, and to St. Augustine, -for the confirmation of the above, said concerning the doctrines of the -Priscillianists. - -The other principal sects of the fourth century were the Donatists, the -Photinians, the Macedonians, the Apollinarists, the Jovinians, the -Collyridians, and the Pelagians. The Nestorians, the Eutichians, and the -Monothelites, sprang up in the fifth century. We have not found in their -writings any passages referring to the dogma of endless hell. However we -must state that we had the opportunity of perusing only about two-thirds -of the numerous and voluminous, we would add tedious, works composed pro -and con concerning their respective tenets. - -_Remark._--Let the reader bear in mind that the most of the Christian -sects, whose disbelief of the dogma of endless hell we have traced out -above, composed the majority of the Christian body; and also that they -have existed, at least, till the middle of the sixth century, the epoch -when the fifth council of Constantinople condemned the doctrine held by -Origen--that of the transmigration of the souls, and of their temporary -punishment. - -_Conclusion._ Therefore the dogma of endless hell was not generally -believed by the Christians of the third, of the fourth, and of the fifth -centuries. - -General conclusion of this third article: - -1. We have proved, by the testimony of the Fathers of the second -century, and by the doctrines of the numerous Christian sects of the -same century, that the dogma of endless hell was even unknown to the -Christians of the first and of the second centuries. Then we must -conclude that not only the first Christians, namely, the Christians of -the first and of the second centuries did not believe in endless hell, -but even that they knew nothing about such a dogma. - -2. We have proved, by the testimony of the Fathers of the third, of the -fourth, and of the fifth centuries, and also by the many Christian sects -which existed in the third, in the fourth, and in the fifth centuries, -that the Christians did not generally believe, in the said centuries, -the dogma of endless hell. Therefore the Christians of the third, of the -fourth, and of the fifth centuries, did not _generally_ believe in -endless hell. - -Therefore the proposition we were to prove in the present article, _that -the first Christians did not believe in the doctrine of endless hell_, -remains peremptorily established. - -_Objection._--Since the fourth century the Church of Rome obtained the -condemnation of the above Christian sects in five general councils. But -if the above sects had composed the majority of the body of Christians, -the Church of Rome would not have obtained their condemnation. -Consequently the above sects did not compose the majority of the body of -Christians during the third, the fourth, and the fifth centuries. - -_Answer._--We deny the minor proposition of this syllogism, which is: -But if the above sects had composed the majority of the body of -Christians, the Church of Rome would not have obtained their -condemnation--and we prove our denegation as follows:-- - -Supposing that the United States be constituted into an empire--God -forbid!--that the emperor would have the control of Church property, -would side, say with the Presbyterian Church, or any other, claiming -supremacy over the other Christian denominations; and that the emperor -would assemble councils conjointly with that Church, would attend and -even be vice-president of those councils, would enforce them with civil -and military force, and also the execution of their acts condemning -another sect arrayed before those councils, without permitting the other -sects to vote in those councils, would it follow from this that all the -other Christian sects do not compose the body of Christians in the -United States? Certainly not. - -But the case was the same with the Church of Rome. Since the end of the -second century the bishop of Rome (we do not say the Pope, for it was -only centuries after that he had the boldness, or rather impudence, to -call himself exclusively Pope,) commenced to claim a personal supremacy -over the other bishops, and also a supremacy of his church over the -other Christian churches. Vain were his efforts until the beginning of -the fourth century, when Sylvestre, bishop of Rome, obtained for himself -and for his church the favors and protection of the emperor Constantine -I., who afterwards joined it, (we will state in the last chapter of this -work the reasons why this tyrant took these steps.) In behalf of the -Church of Rome, he convoked the council of Arles, and the general -council of Nice, and defrayed the expenses of the bishops out of his own -treasure. His protection to the Church of Rome the most of his -successors on the imperial throne continued; and thus the power and -supremacy of this church grew in ratio of the persecutions directed -against the other Christian denominations, which were debarred from -voting in the councils; whose church property was oftentimes -confiscated; and which many of them were prohibited to publicly worship. -In consequence, it is not true to say that, if the various Christian -sects spoken of before had composed the majority of the body of -Christians, the Church of Rome would not have obtained their -condemnation. Therefore the various sects spoken of before composed the -majority of the body of Christians during the third, the fourth and the -fifth centuries. - - -APPENDIX - -_To the proofs that the first Christians did not believe in endless -hell._ - -From the second to the fourth centuries many Apocryphal Gospels had been -written. Some of them have been transmitted down to us, at least their -fragments; and others have not been preserved except their titles. - -Among those gospels are: 1st, the Gospel according to the Hebrews; 2d, -according to the Nazareans; 3d, according to the Twelve Apostles; 4th, -according to St. Peter. It is supposed that these four Gospels were that -of Matthew, altered by the Hebrews. This circumstance has led the -critics to believe, that the Hebrew or Syriac text of Matthew had been -abandoned, lest it might be altered; and that the Greek version had been -preserved. - -5th, The Gospel according to the Egyptians; 6th, that of the birth of -the virgin Mary: we have read it in Latin; 7th, the Protogospel of -James, written in Greek and in Latin; 8th, the Gospel of the Infancy, in -Greek and in Arabic; 9th, that of St. Thomas; 10th, the Gospel of -Nicodemus, in Latin; 11th, the Gospel Eternal; 12th, that of Andrew; -13th, that of Bartholomew; 14th, that of Apelles; 15th, that of -Basilides; 16th, that of Cerinthus; 17th, that of the Ebionites--perhaps -it was the same as that of the Hebrews; 18th, that of Tatian; 19th, that -of Eve; 20th, that of the Gnostics; 21st, that of Marcion; 22d, that of -St. Paul; 23d, the Gospel of the small and great interrogations of Mary; -24th, that of the birth of Jesus: probably the same as the Protogospel -of James; 25th, that of John, or of the death of the virgin Mary; 26th, -that of Matthias; 27th, that of Perfection; 28th, that of the Simonians; -29th, that of the Syrians; 30th, that of the Encratites: probably the -same as that of Tatian; 31st, the Gospel of Thadeus, or of Jude; 32d, -that of Valentine; 33d, that of Life, or of the Living God; 34th, that -of Philip; 35th, that of Barnabeus; 36th, that of James, the major; -37th, that of Judas; 38th, of the Truth: probably the same as that of -Valentine; 39th, the Gospels of Leucius, of Seleucus, of Lucianus, and -of Hesychius. - -For a more extensive information concerning the Apocryphal Gospels, we -refer the reader to the Codex Apocryphus Novi Testamenti Collectus, -Castigatus, published at Hamburg, in 3 vols. octavo, in 1719. The author -was John Albert Fabricius, one of the most learned antiquarians of the -17th century. - -We had the opportunity of reading, in the rich library of the -theological school of Brou, France, several of these Apocryphal -Gospels, that of the birth of the virgin Mary, the Protogospel of James; -that of the death of the virgin Mary, and that of the Twelve Apostles; -but we do not recollect to have seen in these gospels anything, in -regard to endless hell, more positive than what is found in the Gospel -concerning the ruin of Jerusalem. - -Of course this proof, drawn from the Apocryphal Gospels, has not the -same weight as if it was drawn from authentical authors, (it is for this -reason that we have not inserted it in the body of proofs,) however as -it is certain that they have been written from the second to the fourth -centuries, they at least show that their authors, and the many -Christians who used them, did not believe in endless hell. - - -ARTICLE IV. - -_How the Church of Rome borrowed the doctrine of Endless Hell from the -Pagans; and how, afterwards, the self-called Orthodox Protestant -Churches borrowed it from the Church of Rome._ - -It has been proved in the foregoing article, and, we think, to -demonstration, that the Christians of the first and of the second -centuries, neither knew nor believed the dogma of endless hell; -wherefore we may logically make this argument: - -The Christians of the first and of the second centuries neither knew nor -believed the dogma of endless hell: But if the dogma of endless hell -had been taught in the New Testament, the Christians of the first and -of the second centuries would have known and believed it. This we prove: - -Those of the apostles who wrote the New Testament certainly knew -whether, in the New Testament they wrote, they had taught the dogma of -endless hell. If they had known that, in the New Testament they wrote, -they had taught the dogma of endless hell, they would have certainly -informed the Christians of the first century, in their oral -predications, that, in the New Testament they wrote, they had taught the -dogma of endless hell, for it was one of the most important points of -doctrine. If they had informed the Christians of the first century, in -their oral predications, that they had taught, in the New Testament they -wrote, the dogma of endless hell, the Christians of the first century -would have certainly believed that they had taught, in the New Testament -they wrote, the dogma of endless hell. If the Christians of the first -century had believed that they had taught, in the New Testament they -wrote, the dogma of endless hell, they would have certainly believed in -endless hell. If the Christians of the first century had believed in -endless hell, those of the beginning of the second century would have -also believed it; for the apostle and evangelist John was still living -at the end of the year 100; (even many authors say that he died only in -104,) and therefore if any discussion had arisen in regard to the dogma -of endless hell, he would have declared whether it was taught in the -New Testament or not. If the Christians of the beginning of the second -century had also believed the dogma of endless hell, those who would -have lived in the middle and at the end of the second century would have -believed it also; because learning, from the lips, or from the writings, -of those who were co-eval to some of the apostles, the dogma of endless -hell, no traditional alteration might have taken place towards this -dogma; so much so that it would have been generally spread and believed -among Christians, owing to its importance. - -Therefore the minor proposition of our argument is true: _But if the -dogma of endless hell had been taught in the New Testament, the -Christians of the first and of the second centuries would have known and -believed it._ Wherefore we draw this logical conclusion: Then the dogma -of endless hell is not taught in the New Testament. - -Moreover, if the Christians of the third, of the fourth, and of the -fifth centuries, had thought that the dogma of endless hell was taught -in the New Testament they would have at least _generally_ believed it. -But they did not _generally_ believe it, as it has been proved, to -demonstration, in the foregoing Article: consequently the dogma of -endless hell is not taught in the New Testament. - -From the fact that, according to the Christians of the first and of the -second centuries themselves, the dogma of endless hell is not taught in -the New Testament, we draw the conclusion that the Church of Rome, -which first, and successively, introduced in the body of Christians the -dogma of hell and of endless hell, did not originate it from the New -Testament; because there would have been a general protestation against -it from all the other churches. - -It has been proved, in the second Article of this chapter, that the Jews -did not believe the dogma of endless hell. Therefore the Church of Rome -did not originate the dogma of endless hell from the Jews, or from their -Holy Writs. - -Wherefrom, then, did the Church of Rome originate the dogma of endless -hell? - -From Paganism:-- - -The Church of Rome established mysteries towards the beginning of the -third century. They were an imitation of the Pagan mysteries. - -We refer the reader for the proofs of this proposition to the last pages -of the second chapter of this work. - -Thereupon we continue. It was only successively, and to make more -proselytes, that the Church of Rome had established those ceremonies, -rites and doctrines, to the reading thereof we have invited the reader, -and which were not only unspoken of in the Scriptures, but which were a -pure imitation of those of the mysteries of the Pagans. We say, _to make -more proselytes_; for the aim of the Church of Rome was evidently to -diminish the abruptness of the transition between Paganism and -Christianity; to throw a bridge, if we may thus illustrate our idea, -over the steep, wide, and deep abyss that lies between Paganism and -Christianity. - -Now let us compare the hell of the Church of Rome with the Tartarus of -the Pagans. The Pagans called the place where the wicked were punished, -Tartarus, or Infernus; the Church of Rome called, and still calls, the -same place, Tartarus, or Infernus. The Pagans believed that the Tartarus -was in the profundities of the earth; the Church of Rome held, and still -holds, that the Tartarus, called in English, Hell, is in the -profundities of the earth. - -_Remark._--Before proceeding further, let us give the native -signification of the words Tartarus, Infernus and Hell. [Greek: -Tartaros, ou], dark and deep place: [Greek: Tartara gains], [in -Hesiode,] abysses of the earth. The word [Greek: Tartaros] has been -adopted and kept in the Latin, though with the change of the final -[Greek: os] into _us_, Tartarus, and its native meaning preserved. The -Latin word Infernus derives from the word inferior, which signifies a -place under, below an other, a cavity, a profundity. The words Tartarus, -Infernus, have been kept in French, Tartare, Enfer; in Spanish, Tartaro, -Infierno; and also in the other languages derived from the Latin. The -English word _hell_ is the genitive case of the Anglo-Saxon word _hole_, -[See Webster's Dictionary,] which means a cavity, a profundity. The word -Tartarus has been kept from the Latin, with its native signification. In -Greek [Greek: Tartaros] has a plural, as seen before. In Latin -_Tartarus_ has a plural, _Tartari_; so _Infernus_, _Inferi_. In French -_Tartare_ has a plural, _Tartares_; so, _Enfer_, _Enfers_. In Spanish -_Tartaro_ has a plural, _Tartaros_; so, _Infierno_, _Infiernos_. - -Now we continue the comparison that we have commenced between the -Infernus of the Pagans and the Infernus, or Hell, of the Church of Rome. -We will use the word Hell, to express the Tartarus, or Infernus, of both -the Pagans and the Church of Rome. - -The Pagans believed that there was a gate to their hell; so the Church -of Rome believes that there is a gate to the hell of the Christians. The -Pagans believed that the frightful Tisiphon watched day and night at the -gate of their hell; so the Church of Rome believes that Lucifer holds -the keys of the gate of hell, as St. Peter holds the keys of Paradise. - -The Pagans believed that the deepest darkness reigned in their hell; so -the Church of Rome believes that the deepest darkness reigns in the hell -of the Christians. - -The Pagans believed that, in their hell, the Phlegeton river rolled huge -stones on fire, burning the wicked without consuming them; so the Church -of Rome believed, and still believes, [even now it is an article of -faith which must be believed under the penalty of excommunication, of -being a heretic, and thereby of infallibly going to hell,] that, in the -hell of the Christians, the wicked are plunged into a corporeal, or -material, fire of sulphur, and of brimstone. St. Augustine, in his work -De Civitate Dei, Liber 21, Capitulum 10, writes: "_Gehenna illa, quod -etiam stagnum ignis et sulphuris dictum est, corporeus ignis erit._" -[Translation.--"That Gehenna, which is said to be a marsh of fire and of -sulphur, will be a corporeal fire."] - -The Pagans believed that, in their hell, the wicked were tortured in -their bodies and in their souls, although their bodies were in the -grave; so the Church of Rome believed, and still believes that, in the -hell of the Christians, the wicked are tortured in their bodies and in -their souls, although their bodies are in the grave. - -The Pagans believed that, in their hell, hideous furies were armed with -whips and other instruments of torture; so the Church of Rome believed, -and still believes, that, in the hell of the Christians, the devils are -hideous and armed with whips, tridents, harpoons, and other instruments -of torture. We invite the reader to go to Catholic stores of images, and -to see the representation of devils with tails, horns, and armed with -instruments of torture. - -The Pagans believed that, in their hell, the wicked were whipped and -tortured in various cruel manners by the furies, though their bodies -were in the grave; so the Church of Rome believed, and still believes, -that, in the hell of the Christians, the wicked are whipped and -tortured in various cruel manners by the devils, though their bodies -are in the grave. The Pagans believed that, in their hell, the wicked -dragged heavy chains; so the Church of Rome believed, and still -believes, that, in the hell of the Christians, the wicked drag heavy -chains. The Pagans believed that, in their hell, there were two -principal abodes, the one expiatory, in which the common wicked were -detained and tortured, until they had expiated their faults, and been -purified enough to be admitted in the Elysium; and the other, the -vastest, the darkest, and the deepest cavern, where great criminals were -burnt and excruciated endlessly, and without any hope of cessation or -relief in their torments; so the Church of Rome believed, and still -believes, that in the hell of the Christians, there are two principal -abodes, the one, Purgatory, where the common wicked, namely, those -guilty of venial sins, are tortured and burnt in a material fire, until -they have expiated their faults, and been purified enough to be -permitted to crave St. Peter to open to them the gate of Paradise, and -the other the vastest, the darkest, and the deepest profundity, where -the heretics, the schismatics, those who eat meat on Friday, do not pay -the tithe to the priests, or who disobey kindred laws of the Church, are -plunged, bodies and souls, (though their bodies are in the grave,) into -a devouring fire, and where they are excruciated endlessly, without any -hope of cessation or relief in their torments. - -The Pagans believed that, in the expiatory abode of their hell, there -were many different degrees of tortures; so the Church of Rome believed, -and still believes, that, in the Purgatory of the hell of the -Christians, there are many different degrees of tortures. The Pagans -believed that supplications could relieve and free from their tortures, -the common wicked detained in the expiatory abode of their hell; so the -Church of Rome believed, and still believes, that, in the Purgatory of -the hell of the Christians, the common wicked, namely, those guilty of -venial sins, can be relieved in their torments, and be freed from them -by supplications; hence the incalculable sums of money paid to the -priests, to say masses for the deliverance of those wicked; hence the -countless splendid churches, the vast number of monasteries, convents, -nunneries, abbeys, and other costly edifices, founded in behalf of those -wicked. - -The Pagans believed that there were an innumerable quantity of different -degrees of tortures in the second principal abode of their hell; so the -Church of Rome believed, and still believes, that, in the second -principal abode of the hell of the Christians, there is an innumerable -quantity of different degrees of tortures. The Pagans believed that, in -their hell, the wicked condemned to endless misery, would, mingle with -their yells of anguish, torment, and despair, vociferations, -maledictions, and curses, against the gods, and against themselves; so -the Church of Rome believed, and still believes, that, in the hell of -the Christians, the wicked, condemned to endless misery, will mingle -with their yells of anguish, torment, and despair, vociferations, -maledictions, and curses against God, and against themselves; that they -will exclaim, _Montes cadite super nos!_--Mountains fall upon us! The -Pagans believed that, in their hell, the wicked condemned to endless -misery will vainly endeavor to kill and annihilate themselves; so the -Church of Rome believed, and still believes, that the wicked condemned -to endless misery, will vainly attempt to put an end to their miserable -existence. - -Therefore there is a most striking similarity, or rather identity, -between the hell of the Pagans, and the hell of the Church of Rome. - -Therefore, since as proved above, - -1st, The Church of Rome was the first Church which introduced the dogma -of endless hell in the body of Christians; - -2d, Since, as proved above, the Church of Rome did not originate the -dogma of endless hell from the New Testament; - -3d, Since, as proved above, the Church of Rome did not borrow from the -Jews, or from their Holy Writs, the dogma of endless hell; - -4th, Since, as proved above, the Church of Rome, at the imitation of the -Pagans, established, towards the beginning of the third century, -mysteries, many of the ceremonies, rites and doctrines thereof were -alike to those ceremonies, rites and doctrines, of the mysteries of the -Pagans; - -5th, Since, as proved above, there is a most striking similarity, or -rather identity, between the hell of the Pagans, and the hell of the -Church of Rome, - -We legitimately draw this important conclusion: - -Therefore the Church of Rome borrowed from the Pagans the dogma of -endless hell. - -When the Protestants, now self-called Orthodox Churches, left the Church -of Rome, in the sixteenth century, they cut off many of the appendices -and concomitant particularities of the dogma of endless hell; but they -preserved, and even in our days profess to believe, the main features of -this dogma, namely, that in hell there is sulphur, brimstone, and fire; -that in hell there are devils; that in hell there are many degrees of -torments; that in hell the wicked are constantly burning in fire without -consuming, and are constantly tortured by the devils without any relief; -that hell shall exist forever and evermore, as long as endless eternity -shall endure; and that the torments of the wicked in hell shall no more -end than hell itself. - -That the Protestants, now self-called Orthodox Christian Churches, -borrowed from the Church of Rome, in the sixteenth century, the dogma of -endless hell; and that they preserved the above belief in regard to -endless hell, is proved by the unanimous testimony of modern historians -and of chroniclers. That they, now-a-days, profess the above belief in -regard to endless hell, is a fact which we can daily, and particularly -every Sunday, in all cities, towns, and villages of this country, and of -all Protestant countries, verify with our own eyes in their writings, -and with our own ears in their temples. - -Now we draw our general conclusions: - -1st, Therefore the Church of Rome borrowed from the Pagans the dogma of -endless hell. - -2d, Therefore the now self-called Orthodox Protestant, or Christian -Churches, borrowed from the Church of Rome the dogma of endless hell. - -Conclusion of the chapter: - -_Therefore the Partialist doctrine of endless hell is of Pagan origin._ - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -PAGAN ORIGIN OF THE DOCTRINE OF A FIRST JUDGMENT, BY JESUS CHRIST, -IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE SEPARATION OF THE SOUL FROM THE BODY. - - -IT will be evident that the origin of the doctrine of a first judgment, -by Jesus Christ, immediately after the separation of the soul from the -body, is Pagan, if it can be proved, 1st, That the Pagans believed in a -first judgment, by a god, immediately after the separation of the soul -from the body; 2d, That the particulars of this first judgment, believed -in by the Partialist Christian Churches, present a striking similarity -with the particulars of the first judgment, believed in by the Pagans; -and 3d, That the Church of Rome, which, in the sixteenth century, -transmitted to the now self-called Orthodox Christian Churches this -doctrine of a first judgment, which they accepted full and entire, did -not hold it from the apostles of Jesus Christ nor from the Jews. - -But it can be proved, 1st, That the Pagans believed in a first judgment, -by a god, immediately after the separation of the soul from the body; -2d, That the particulars of this first judgment, believed in by the -Partialist Christian Churches, present a striking similarity with the -particulars of the first judgment, believed in by the Pagans; and 3d, -that the Church of Rome, which, in the sixteenth century transmitted to -the now self-called Orthodox Christian Churches this doctrine of a first -judgment, which they accepted full and entire, did not hold it from the -Apostles of Jesus Christ nor from the Jews. - -1st, It can be proved that the Pagans believed in a first judgment, by a -god, immediately after the separation of the soul from the body. - -We extract the following from the History of the Egyptians, by Rollin. -Article--Funerals: "Before the dead were admitted in the sacred asylum -of the tomb, they underwent a solemn judgment. And this circumstance of -the funerals among the Egyptians, is one of the most remarkable things -in the ancient history. It is a consolation to us to leave behind us, -when we die, a name honored among men; and of all blessings it is the -only one of which we cannot be deprived by death. But in Egypt, it was -not permitted to indistinctly praise the dead; this honor was conferred -only after a favorable public judgment. The assembly of the judges was -held on the other side of a lake, which they crossed on a bark. He who -conducted the bark was called, in the Egyptian tongue, _Charon_; and it -is from this name that the Greeks, instructed by Orpheus, who had been -in Egypt, had invented the fable of the bark of _Charon_. - -"When a man died he was brought to judgment. The public accuser was -heard. If he proved that the conduct of the dead had been wicked, his -memory was stigmatized, and he was deprived of the honor of funerals. -The people admired the power of the laws, which extended even beyond -death; and everybody, influenced by the example of others, was afraid to -dishonor his family, and his own memory. If the dead was not convicted -of any crime, he was honorably buried. What was the most astonishing in -this judgment of the dead was that royalty itself was not spared. The -kings were not judged during their life, the public good demanded it; -but they were not exempted from the after death's judgment, and several -of them were deprived of honorable funerals. This custom passed among -the Israelites. We read in the Old Testament that wicked kings were not -buried in the tombs of their fathers. Thus kings learned, that, if their -majesty places them above the judgments of men, it is so no longer when -death has placed them on the same level with their fellow-men. - -"When the judgment, which had been pronounced, was favorable to the -dead, they proceeded to the ceremony of the burial. A panegyric was -delivered in which nothing was said of his birth, because every Egyptian -was considered to be a noble man. His personal virtues only were -praised. Then the whole assembly supplicated the gods to welcome him in -the assembly of the virtuous dead, and to associate him to their -eternal bliss." - -This judgment gave birth to the fable of a judgment rendered by the -gods, immediately after the separation of the soul from the body. Charon -was represented carrying the souls of the dead on board his bark, across -the Styx river, to be judged by the great judge, Minos. This became a -general belief among the Pagans, not only in Egypt, but in Greece, in -Italy, and in nearly all the Oriental countries; as proved by the -unanimous consent of the mythological authors. This belief has been -perpetuated among the Pagans of those countries. Even in our days, the -Indians believe in this judgment, and call the great judge, Zomo, or -according to others, Jamen. The Japanese, followers of Buda, also -believe in this judgment; and they call the great judge, Zomo. Likewise -the Lamas believe in this judgment, and call the great judge Erlik-kan. - -Therefore the Pagans believed in a first judgment, by a god, immediately -after the separation of the soul from the body. - -2d. It can be proved that the particulars of this first judgment, -believed in by the Partialist Christian Churches, present a striking -similarity with the particulars of the first judgment, believed in by -the Pagans: - -The Pagans believed that their great judge, Minos, sat on a throne, to -judge the souls immediately after their separation from the bodies that -they animated; so the Partialist Christian Churches believe that Jesus -Christ sits on a throne, to judge the souls, immediately after their -separation from the bodies that they animated. The Pagans believed that, -near to Minos' throne, and at his right hand, good geniuses, or spirits, -stood; so the Partialist Christian Churches believe that, near to Jesus -Christ's throne, and at his right hand, good angels stand. The Pagans -believed that, near to Minos' throne, and at his left hand, furies -stood; so the Partialist Christian Churches believe that, near to Jesus -Christ's throne, and at his left hand, devils stand. - -The Pagans believed that the souls were driven to the redoubtable -tribunal of Minos by their respective guardian angel, who had -accompanied them during their whole life on earth; had watched day and -night over their conduct; and had kept a record of all they had done, -right or wrong; so the Church of Rome, and some other Partialist -Christian Churches, believe that the souls are driven to the redoubtable -tribunal of Jesus Christ by their respective guardian angel, who has -accompanied them during their whole life on earth; has watched day and -night over their conduct, and has kept a record of all they have done, -right or wrong. The Pagans believed that Minos based his judgments on -the contents of two books, the one called book of life, and the other -book of death; so the Partialist Christian Churches believe that Jesus -Christ bases his judgments on the contents of two books; the one called -book of life, and the other book of death. The Pagans believed that the -souls who had obtained from Minos a favorable sentence, were led to the -Elysium by their respective guardian angel; and that those who had been -condemned to the Tartarus, were apprehended by the furies, and hurled -into it; so the Partialist Christian Churches believe that the souls who -obtain from Jesus Christ a favorable sentence, are led to Paradise by -their respective guardian angel; or, [in the opinion of those of the -Partialist Christian Churches, which do not believe in a guardian angel] -by other angels. - -Consequently the particulars of the first judgment, believed in by the -Partialist Christian Churches, present a striking similarity with the -particulars of the first judgment, believed in by the Pagans. - -3d. It can be proved that the Church of Rome, which, in the sixteenth -century, transmitted to the now self-called Orthodox Christian Churches -the doctrine of a first judgment, which they accepted full and entire, -did not hold it from the apostles of Jesus Christ, nor from the Jews:-- - -The Church of Rome does not hold the doctrine of a first judgment from -the apostles of Jesus Christ, for this doctrine implies a -blasphemy--whether Jesus Christ be considered as being God himself--and -all the Partialist Christian Churches hold that he is God himself--and -whether Jesus Christ be considered as being only the Son of God. But -the doctrine of a first judgment implies a blasphemy, whether Jesus -Christ be considered as being God himself, and whether he be considered -as being only the Son of God. - -First, it implies a blasphemy, if Jesus Christ is considered as being -God himself. Jesus Christ, being God himself, would necessarily know all -the good and bad actions done by the souls, while they animate their -respective bodies on earth, in consequence it is an insult to his -attribute of wisdom, and thereby a blasphemy, to say that the guardian -angels of the souls, as they bring them to his tribunal, inform him of -their good and bad actions, which they have recorded. Even in the case -of those of the Partialist Christian Churches, which reject the -circumstance of the guardian angels, the doctrine of a first judgment -implies an insult to the wisdom of Jesus Christ, (in their opinion God -himself), and thereby a blasphemy; for a judgment supposes a trial; a -trial supposes an investigation; an investigation supposes the ignorance -of the deeds to be pronounced upon, and the supposition that God has not -a perfect knowledge of those deeds, is an insult to his wisdom, and -thereby is a blasphemy. - -Second, The doctrine of a first judgment implies a blasphemy, if Jesus -Christ is considered as being only the Son of God. If God had vested -Jesus Christ with the power of discerning rewards and punishments to the -souls after death, he would have given him a knowledge of the good and -bad actions of the souls. But the doctrine of a first judgment supposes -that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, would come to this knowledge only -through the means of a trial, which supposition is an insult to the -wisdom of God, and thereby a blasphemy. - -Then the doctrine of a first judgment implies a blasphemy, whether Jesus -Christ be considered as being God himself, and whether Jesus Christ be -considered as being only the Son of God. - -Therefore the Church of Rome does not hold the doctrine of a first -judgment from the apostles of Jesus Christ. - -General conclusions:-- - -It has been proved in this chapter, 1st, That the Pagans believed in a -first judgment, by a god, immediately after the separation of the soul -from the body; 2d, That the particulars of this first judgment, believed -in by the Partialist Christian Churches, present a striking similarity -with the particulars of the first judgment, believed in by the Pagans; -and, 3d, That the Church of Rome, which, in the sixteenth century, -transmitted to the now self-called Orthodox Christian Churches this -doctrine of a first judgment, which they accepted full and entire, did -not hold it from the apostles of Jesus Christ; neither did she hold it -from the Jews; for not a single passage can be traced out in the Old -Testament, or in Josephus, referring to a first judgment. - -_Therefore the origin of the doctrine of a first judgment, by Jesus -Christ, immediately after the separation of the soul from the body, is -Pagan._ - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - -PAGAN ORIGIN OF THE DOCTRINE OF THE RESURRECTION OF THE BODY. - - -IF it is proved, 1st, That in the first centuries of the Christian era, -and before the coming of Jesus Christ, the doctrine of the resurrection -of the body was held by a large number of Pagans; 2d, That the Church of -Rome which, in the sixteenth century, transmitted it to the now -self-called Orthodox Christian Churches, did not hold it either from the -apostles of Jesus Christ, or from the Jews, it will remain evident that -the Church of Rome borrowed it from the Pagans, and consequently that -its origin is Pagan. - -But it can be proved, 1st, That in the first centuries of the Christian -era, and before the coming of Jesus Christ, the doctrine of the -resurrection of the body was held by a large number of Pagans; 2d, That -the Church of Rome, which, in the sixteenth century, transmitted it to -the now self-called Orthodox Christian Churches, did not hold it from -the apostles of Jesus Christ; and, 3d, That she did not hold it from the -Jews. - -1st. It can be proved that in the first centuries of the Christian era, -and before the coming of Jesus Christ, the doctrine of the resurrection -of the body was held by a large number of Pagans: - -The doctrine of the resurrection of the body had been taught by -Zoroaster. All the Persians believed it; and even now the Parsis, or -followers of the religion of Zoroaster, who live in Turkey and in -Persia, hold it. It was also one of the dogmas of the Chaldeans, and of -many other oriental countries. In India the Pagans, now-a-days, believe -that their bodies will come again to life, and it is owing to this -belief, the Roman Catholic priest Bergier says, that the wives throw -themselves on the same wood piles on which lay the dead bodies of their -husbands, to be burnt alive, and to come again to life with them. This -belief and practice are immemorial in India. Interesting particulars in -regard to the doctrine of the resurrection believed by ancient nations, -can be read in the French work, Memoires de l'Academie des Inscriptions, -tome 69, pages 270, and following; in the work of Hyde, on the Religion -of the Persians; and also in the writings of Plutarch, article Isis and -Osiris. - -According to the testimony of Diodore, and of Herodote, the Egyptians -believed in Metempsychosis; and it was an immemorial doctrine among -them. Also, many of them believed that their bodies would come again to -life, after a sojourn of one thousand years in the grave. The Sybilline -verses treat of the resurrection of the body. Much has been written -about it by Bocchus, in Solin, chap. 8; and by Lactance, book 7, chap. -29, book 4, chap. 15, 18, and 19. The Stoicians, who were the most -learned philosophers of antiquity, and in the three centuries which -preceded the coming of Jesus Christ, and also in the three that -followed, believed in Metempsychosis; however, a portion of their school -believed in the resurrection of the body. Of this we are informed by -Seneca, Epist. 40; by Laerta, book 7; and by Plutarch, writing on the -Resignation of the Stoicians. - -Pliny, deriding Democrite, informs us that this philosopher believed in -the resurrection of the body; see book 7, chap. 45, where he says: "Vain -is the promise made by Democrite that we will live again." The doctrine -of the resurrection of the body is taught in these verses of Phocylides -about the remains of the dead: - - "[Greek: Ou kalon harmonien analyemen anthropoio; - Kai tacha d' ek gaies elpizomen es phaos elthein - Leipsan' apoichomenon opiso te theoi telethontai.]" - -Translation:--"It is impious to disperse the remains of man; for the -ashes and the bones of the dead will come again to light, and will -become similar to the gods." - -Virgil speaks of the resurrection of the body, though in an obscure -manner, in the sixth book of his poem Eneida. - -Therefore in the first centuries of the Christian era, and before the -coming of Jesus Christ, the doctrine of the resurrection of the body was -held by a large number of Pagans. - -2d. It can be proved that the Church of Rome, which, in the sixteenth -century, transmitted the doctrine of the resurrection of the body to the -now self-called Orthodox Christian Churches, did not hold it from the -apostles of Jesus Christ:-- - -It will be evident that the Church of Rome did not hold the doctrine of -the resurrection of the body from the apostles of Jesus Christ, if it -can be proved, 1st, That the Fathers of the first centuries did not -agree on this doctrine; 2d, That nearly all the Christian denominations -of the first two centuries, and the majority, to say the least, of those -of the century following, disbelieved it; and, 3d, That this doctrine is -irrational. - -But it can be proved, 1st, That the Fathers of the first centuries did -not agree about the doctrine of the resurrection of the body; 2d, That -nearly all the Christian denominations of the first two centuries, and -the majority, to say the least, of the century following, disbelieved -it; and, 3d, That this doctrine is irrational. - -1st. It can be proved that the Fathers of the first centuries did not -agree about the doctrine of the resurrection of the body. - -Tatian believed in Metempsychosis, but not in the resurrection of the -body. St. Gregory of Nysse denied that there was anything corporeal in -the person of Jesus Christ, since the time he ascended to the heavens. -Origen admitted the resurrection of the bodies, but not that of the -flesh. Synesius, bishop of Ptolemaida, in his Series of Epistles, -declares that the doctrine of the resurrection of the body is a mystery, -whose solution ought to be kept secret, and considered as sacred: that -it is well to teach it to the people; and that he, the bishop, would -publicly profess and preach this doctrine, though it is not his personal -belief. If the reader desires to find lengthier particulars, about the -divergency of the opinions of the Fathers concerning the doctrine of the -resurrection of the body, we refer him to the work of Beausobre, headed, -History of Manicheanism, tome 2, book 8, chap. 5, No. 3, and following. - -Therefore the Fathers of the first centuries did not agree about the -doctrine of the resurrection of the body. - -2d. It can be proved that nearly all the Christian sects, or -denominations, of the first two centuries, and the majority, to say the -least, of those of the century following, disbelieved the doctrine of -the resurrection of the body:---- - -According to the unanimous testimony of the Roman Catholic authors -themselves, Bergier, Feller, Fleury, etc., etc., the following Christian -sects of the first three centuries held the dogma of Metempsychosis: The -Basilidians, the Bardesanists, the Barules, the Barborians, the -Valentinians, the Marcionites, the Marcosians, the Theodotians, the -Artemonians, the Carpocratians, the Docetes, the Tatianists, the -Apellites, the Montanists, the Artotyrites, the Severians, the Ascites, -the Ascodrutes, the Ophites, the Cainites, the Sethians, the -Hermogenians, the Hermians, the Valesians, the Hieracites, the -Samosatians, and the Manicheans: this latter sect, Catholic authors say, -were subdivided into more than sixty sects, which professed, each one of -them, to believe in Metempsychosis. The same authors add, that many of -the other sects named above denied the resurrection of the body. Though -they do not say so of all, we may safely affirm that every one of the -above named Christian sects disbelieved the doctrine of the resurrection -of the body. This we demonstrate thus:-- - -According to the doctrine of Metempsychosis, when, at death, a soul -separates from the body, she passes into another body to animate it; and -to thus expiate, by many and successive transmigrations, the faults she -has committed in an anterior existence, and so continually. But the -doctrine of the resurrection of the body teaches that the same soul -which animated it in its prior existence, shall animate it anew when it -will come again to life. How can then this same soul animate this same -body, and at the same time the thousands of other human bodies, which -she had also animated in her various transmigrations? Therefore the -belief of the doctrine of Metempsychosis necessarily implies a disbelief -of the doctrine of the resurrection of the body. Consequently, although -the Roman Catholic authors do not positively state that all the above -named Christian sects disbelieved the doctrine of the resurrection of -the body, we may safely affirm, from the fact that they held the -doctrine of Metempsychosis, that they disbelieved the doctrine of the -resurrection of the body. - -Therefore nearly all the Christian sects, or denominations, of the first -two centuries, and the majority, to say the least, of those of the -century following, disbelieved the doctrine of the resurrection of the -body. - -3d. It can be proved that the doctrine of the resurrection of the body -is irrational. - -All the reasons which have been brought forth by St. Cyrille, bishop of -Jerusalem, in his Catechism, page 18; by St. Gregory of Nysse, in his -oratio on the Resurrection of the Flesh; by St. Augustine, in his City -of God, book 20; by St. Chrysostome, in his homily on the Resurrection -of the Flesh; by Tertullian, in his treatise on the Resurrection of the -Flesh; by St. Gregory, the Pope, in his Fourth Dialogue; by St. -Ambrosius, in his sermon on the Faith of the Resurrection of the Flesh; -and by St. Epiphane, Ancyrot, page 38, can be summed up as follows:-- - -God himself has formed with his own hands man's body; he has animated it -with the breath of his own mouth, and has placed within it a soul made -to his likeness. The flesh of the Christian is, in some manner, -associated to all the functions of its soul, and is the instrument of -all the graces of God. It is the body that is washed by baptism to -purify the soul, it is the body that in order to feed the soul receives -the Eucharist; it is the body that is immolated to God by -mortifications, by fasts, by vigils, by virginity, and by martyrdom. -Thus St. Paul reminds that our bodies are the members of Jesus Christ, -and the temples of the Holy Spirit. Would God leave in the grave forever -the work of his own hands, the master-piece of his might, the depository -of his breath, the king of the other bodies, the canal of his graces, -and the victim of his worship? - -If God has condemned the body to death as a punishment for sin, Jesus -Christ came to save all that was lost. Without this complete reparation, -we would not know how far the goodness, the mercy, and the parental -tenderness of our God, extend. The flesh of man, restored by incarnation -to its former dignity, ought to come again to life, as well as that of -Jesus Christ. Is not he who created the flesh mighty enough to bring it -again to life? Nothing entirely perishes in nature: forms change, but -all renews itself, and seems to grow young again; God has stamped -immortality upon all his works. Night follows the day, eclipsed stars -appear anew; the spring makes us forget the winter; plants grow again, -and resume their hues and perfumes; and several animals which seem to -die receive a new life. Thus, by the lessons of nature, God has prepared -the lessons of the revelation; and he has shown us the image of the -resurrection, before showing us its reality. - -God's justice demands the resurrection of our body. God ought to judge, -to reward, or to punish the whole man. The body is the instrument of -the soul for good or for evil; even the thoughts of the soul are -reflected on man's face. The soul cannot experience pleasure or pain -without the co-participation of the body, and the principal exercise of -virtue consists in the repression of the desires of the flesh. Then it -is just that the soul of the wicked be tormented, by being reunited to -the same body which has been the instrument of her crimes; and that the -soul of the saints be rewarded, by her eternal reunion to a body which -has been the instrument of her merits. - -All these reasons can be generalized thus: - -Man's body has been the instrument of our soul to do good or evil. Then -the justice of God requires that man's body come again to life, to -share, with its soul, eternal reward, or eternal punishment. - -We answer: Since man's body is but the instrument of our soul to do good -or evil, his body is capable neither of merit nor of demerit. But, since -man's body is capable neither of merit nor of demerit, it is capable -neither of reward nor of punishment. Therefore the justice of God does -not require that man's body come again to life, to share, with its soul, -eternal reward or eternal punishment. - -More, it is irrational that the same particles of matter be, at the same -time, in many places. But the doctrine of the resurrection of the body -supposes that the same particles of matter will be, at the same time, -in many places. This we prove: - -The cannibals live upon man's flesh; and they assimilate to their own -bodies the particles of flesh which compose the bodies of the men they -devour. Consequently, at the resurrection of the bodies, these particles -of flesh will compose the bodies of the cannibals, and, at the same -time, the bodies of the men they have devoured. Therefore, the doctrine -of the resurrection of the body supposes, that the same particles of -matter will be, at the same time, in many places. - -Besides, when, after death, man's body putrefies, the particles of -flesh, of which it is composed, dissolve into gases, which the plants -convert to their own nature. Those vegetables and fruits, thousands of -men eat; and thus they assimilate to themselves those same particles, -which formerly composed the bodies of other men. Consequently, at the -resurrection of the bodies, those particles will compose a multitude of -bodies. Therefore, the doctrine of the resurrection of the body -supposes, that the same particles of matter will be, at the same time, -in many places. - -Then the doctrine of the resurrection of the body is irrational. - -_Objection._--Jesus Christ came again to life with a spiritual body. -Then these proofs do not demonstrate that the doctrine of the -resurrection of the body is irrational. - -_Answer._--Jesus Christ came again to life with a spiritual body; this -we concede. Then these proofs do not demonstrate that the doctrine of -the resurrection of the body is irrational. This we deny; for it is an -article of faith in the Church of Rome; and it is nearly unanimously -believed by all the other Partialist Churches, that the bodies of the -righteous _alone_ will be spiritual bodies; and that the bodies of the -wicked will be after the resurrection, as they were while on earth. -Consequently, it does not follow, from the fact that Jesus Christ came -again to life with a spiritual body, that the above proofs do not -demonstrate that the doctrine of the resurrection of the body is -irrational. - -_Remark._--The Partialists quote passages of the Scriptures to prove the -doctrine of the resurrection of the body. We shall not discuss the true -meaning of those passages; for such a discussion does not enter in the -plan of this work, which is exclusively intended to prove historically -the true origin of the Partialist doctrines. However, in regard to those -texts we say: - -It would be a blasphemy against God to suppose that the Scriptures teach -us an irrational doctrine. But, as demonstrated above, the doctrine of -the resurrection of the body is irrational. Then the Scriptures do not -teach it. Then those texts ought not to be understood of the -resurrection of the body. - -3d. It can be proved that the Church of Rome did not hold the doctrine -of the resurrection of the body from the Jews. - -The Church of Rome did not hold from the Jews the doctrine of the -resurrection of the body, if, 1st, the Roman Catholic theologians do not -hold that this doctrine is taught in the Old Testament; 2d, If this -doctrine was traditional only among the illiterate portion of the Jewish -nation; and, 3d, If this tradition was not of an ancient and national -origin. - -But, 1st, The Roman Catholic theologians do not hold that the doctrine -of the resurrection of the body is taught in the Old Testament; 2d, This -doctrine was traditional only among the illiterate portion of the Jewish -nation; and, 3d, This tradition was not of an ancient and national -origin. - -1st, The Roman Catholic theologians do not hold that the doctrine of the -resurrection of the body is taught in the Old Testament. - -The Roman Catholic theologians do not pretend that the doctrine of the -resurrection of the body is taught in the Old Testament; they only -assert that it may be that it is taught therein. Bergier, who is their -organ, and whose works, written in the last century, were, and still now -are, classical among the priests, writes--Article, Resurrection of the -Body, page 159:--"We presume that Job, Daniel, and the seven Maccabean -brothers, had some knowledge of this essential dogma." Consequently the -Roman Catholic theologians do not hold that the doctrine of the -resurrection of the body is taught in the Old Testament. - -2d, The doctrine of the resurrection of the body was traditional only -among the illiterate portion of the Jewish nation. - -Josephus states, in his Antiq. Jud., book 18, ch. 2; and in his De Bello -Judaico, book 2, ch. 7, al. ch. 12, that the Sadducees were the literate -portion of the Jewish people; that they held nearly all the public -offices; that they were well educated, courteous, and that they avoided -public discussions and controversies on the subject of religion. He -states also that they disbelieved the doctrine of the resurrection of -the body. Therefore the doctrine of the resurrection of the body was -traditional only among the illiterate portion of the Jewish nation. - -3d, The tradition of the doctrine of the resurrection of the body was -not of an ancient and national origin. - -In the year 587 before the Christian era, in the second year of the -reign of Sedecias, Jerusalem was besieged, taken, destroyed; Sedecias -and the whole nation were led captives to Babylon. There they were -detained seventy years, until Cyrus permitted them to return to their -own country. During those seventy years of captivity, the Jewish people -borrowed from the Pagans many religious practices, ceremonies, rites, -and doctrines--this is the testimony of Josephus--and among them the -doctrine of the resurrection of the body, which, as has been proved -before, was believed by a large number of Pagans. When the people -returned from Babylon to Jerusalem a portion of them preserved some of -those religious practices, ceremonies, rites, and doctrines, and -rejected the others. Those which they preserved they transmitted to -their posterity, and among them was the doctrine of the resurrection of -the body. Therefore the tradition of the doctrine of the resurrection of -the body was not of an ancient and national origin. - -We have proved, 1st, That the Roman Catholic theologians do not hold -that the doctrine of the resurrection of the body is taught in the Old -Testament; 2d, That this doctrine was traditional only among the -illiterate portion of the Jewish nation; and, 3d, That this tradition -was not of an ancient and national origin. - -Therefore, 3d, The Church of Rome did not hold from the Jews the -doctrine of the resurrection of the body. - -We come now to the general conclusions of this chapter. - -It has been proved, 1st, that in the first centuries of the Christian -era, and before the coming of Jesus Christ, the doctrine of the -resurrection of the body was held by a large number of Pagans; 2d, That -the Church of Rome, which, in the sixteenth century, transmitted it to -the now self-called Orthodox Christian Churches, did not hold it either -from the Apostles of Jesus Christ or from the Jews. - -Therefore the Church of Rome borrowed from the Pagans the doctrine of -the resurrection of the body. - -_Therefore the origin of the doctrine of the resurrection of the body is -Pagan._ - - - - -CHAPTER X. - -PAGAN ORIGIN OF THE DOCTRINE OF A GENERAL JUDGMENT AT THE END OF THE -WORLD. - - -THE Church of Rome and the other Partialist Christian Churches profess -to believe that, at the end of the world, a general judgment of all the -then living, and of all the dead, shall take place. When, in the -sixteenth century, the great Protestant scission took place, the new -Churches formed preserved this doctrine of the Church of Rome, with only -accessory modifications; and since that time they have professed it; -even now-a-days they cling to it. We shall prove in this chapter that -the origin of this doctrine is Pagan. - -The origin of the doctrine of a general judgment of all the then living -and of all the dead, which shall take place at the end of the world, is -Pagan, 1st, If the Pagans held the doctrine of a general judgment of all -the then living and of all the dead, which shall take place at the end -of the world; 2d, If there is a striking similarity between the -particulars of the doctrine of a general judgment, as held by the -Pagans, and the doctrine of a general judgment, as held by the Church -of Rome, and by the other Partialist Christian Churches; 3d, If the -Church of Rome did not hold the doctrine of a general judgment from the -apostles of Jesus Christ; and, 4th, If the Church of Rome did not hold -this doctrine from the Jews. - -But, 1st, The Pagans held the doctrine of a general judgment of all the -then living and of all the dead, which shall take place at the end of -the world; 2d, There is a striking similarity between the -particularities of the doctrine of a general judgment, as held by the -Pagans, and the doctrine of a general judgment, as held by the Church of -Rome; 3d, The Church of Rome did not hold the doctrine of a general -judgment from the apostles of Jesus Christ; and, 4th, The Church of Rome -did not hold this doctrine from the Jews. - -These four heads of questions we are to successively prove. - -1st, We prove that the Pagans held the doctrine of a general judgment of -all the then living and of all the dead, which shall take place at the -end of the world. - -Plato, and other philosophers and writers of the Pagans, taught that a -solemn general judgment of the dead was to decide their fate. Minos sat -on a throne, and shook the fatal urn. By his side were the avenging -furies, and a host of evil spirits, executioners of the sentences of -Minos. Eacus, Rhadamante, and Triptolem, were his assistant judges. - -Even now the Indians believe that Zomo will judge the world; so the -Japanese. The Lamas ascribe this power to Erlik-kan. - -At the sound of a trumpet the earth was to deliver up her dead to be -judged. It was to be destroyed by fire after a great commotion of the -celestial spheres, and fears of the then living mortals. - -The souls, at the sound of a trumpet, assembled in a vast meadow, -adorned with asphodels, where Minos sat on his throne. The dead were led -to his redoubtable tribunal by their respective guardian angels, who had -accompanied them during their whole life; watched over their conduct; -and had kept a record of all they had done, right or wrong. This meadow, -where the dead were to be judged, was called the field of truth, because -there the whole truth about the past doings of the dead was made known, -and no crime could escape the knowledge and justice of the great judge. -The dead, once assembled, were divided into three classes. The first -class was composed of those who had been virtuous on earth: they were -the smallest number. The second class was composed of those who were -guilty of great crimes; and the third class, of those who had been -neither virtuous nor great criminals. - -This triple division, which we naturally find in society, was taught by -Plato in his Phaedo, a work in which, writing about the judgment of the -dead, he divides them as said before. This same division we also find -in Plutarch, treating the same subject, and disserting, in his answer to -the Epicureans, about the state of the dead to be judged. Minos used -three books in judging the dead; the first was called book of life, it -was used for the righteous: the second was called book of death; it was -used for the great criminals: the third book was used for those who had -been neither righteous nor great criminals. The judge pronounced the -sentence only after the severest examination of the virtues and crimes -of every one of the dead; and he affixed a seal on their forehead as he -judged them. - -Social laws and duties were the particular subjects of his judgments. He -amply rewarded social virtues, and severely punished social vices. Among -the Greeks and the Romans, this great priestly fiction was intended for -the maintenance of laws; for stimulating patriotism, national and social -virtues by the hope of the rewards of the Elysium; and also to check -crime and vice in society, by the fear of terrible sufferings in the -Tartarus. Were sentenced to the Tartarus all those who had conspired -against the State, or fostered a conspiration; those who had been -bribed; those who had delivered up a city to the enemy; those who had -provided the foes of the country with weapons, vessels, provisions, -etc.; those who had contrived to enslave their fellow-citizens, or had -tyrannized over them, etc. This last dogma had been added to the others -by the free States. - -Afterwards, philosophy turned these fictions against despotism itself, -which had invented them. Plato placed in the Tartarus ferocious tyrants, -such as Ardiee of Pamphylia, who had murdered his brother, his father, -and had committed many other crimes. The soul preserved after death all -her stains, and was sentenced accordingly. Plato represented the souls -of the kings, and of other rulers, as being the most stained. Tantalus, -Tityus, and Sisiphus, who had been kings, were the greatest criminals, -and endured in the Tartarus the most excruciating pains. However, kings -did not believe those fictions, and were not restrained from oppressing -the people. - -Virgil enumerates the principal crimes which divine justice punished in -the Tartarus. He represents, here, a brother who from hatred has slain -his brother; a son who has ill-treated his father; a man who has -deceived his patrons; an avaricious man, an egotist, and a selfish man; -there, are seen an adulterer, an unfaithful servant, and a citizen who -either waged war against his fellow citizens, or sold his country for -gold, or was bribed for the enactment of unjust laws. Farther are seen -an incestuous father, and wives who have murdered their husbands. - -It is to be remarked that the authors, or originators of these fictions, -pronounced pains only against crimes which might have injured society, -whose progress and happiness was one of the great ends of the initiation -to the mysteries of Eleusis and others. - -In the Tartarus Minos punished the same crimes which he would have -punished on earth according to the wise laws of the Cretenses, supposing -that he had in reality reigned over them. If crimes against religion -were to be punished in the Tartarus, it was because religion, being -considered as a duty, and as the principal bond of society, it -necessarily followed that irreligion was to be one of the greatest -crimes, which was to be avenged by the gods. Hence the people were -taught that the great crime of many of the famous criminals, tortured in -the Tartarus, was their disrespect for the mysteries of Eleusis; that -the great crime of Salmone was to have tried to imitate Jove's thunder; -and that the great crime of Ixion, of Orion, and of Tityus, was to have -violated goddesses. - -The fiction of the Elysium was directed to the same moral and political -aim. Virgil places in the Elysium the heroes who laid down their lives -for the defense of their country; also the inventors of arts, and all -those who have been useful to their fellow men, and have a title to -their gratitude. It was to strengthen this idea that apotheosis was -instituted; hence it was taught in the mysteries that Hercules, Bacchus, -and the Dioscores were but men, who, by their virtues and their services -had obtained immortality. Afterwards the Romans placed Scipio in the -Elysium. Cicero ascribed a high station in the Elysium to the true -patriots; to the friends of justice; to good sons; to good parents; and -to good citizens. - -In the Elysium, as Plato described it, kindness and justice were -rewarded: there the true patriot, the modest and just Aristides, had -been admitted. To this divine recompense piety, eagerness in seeking for -truth, and love to it, were the surest titles. When the dead had been -judged those who had been pronounced worthy of the Elysium passed to the -right hand side, and were led to the Elysium, every one by his guardian -angel. Those who had been sentenced to the Tartarus passed to the left -hand side, and were dragged thereto, each one by the evil genius that -beguiled him while on earth. Onward they were driven, carrying on their -back their sentence of condemnation, and the enumeration of all their -crimes. Those whose vices were curable were to be released after due -expiation and reform. - -According to Plato, the dead who have been guilty of murder, sacrilege, -and other enormous crimes, shall be endlessly miserable in the Tartarus. -Those whose crimes have not been so great shall be detained therein for -a year; and, at the expiration of this time they will be brought out, -near the marsh of Acheron, by the waters of the Cocyte, and of the -Pyriphlegeton rivers. Then they shall humbly beg pardon from those they -have wronged; and, if they obtain it, they shall be released; if not -they shall be taken back to the Tartarus on the rivers. Virgil also -speaks of that state of expiation and purification of the souls of the -dead. - -Therefore the Pagans held the doctrine of a general judgment of all the -then living, and of all the dead, which shall take place at the end of -the world. - -2d. We prove that there is a striking similarity between the -particularities of the doctrine of a general judgment, as held by the -Pagans, and the doctrine of a general judgment, as held by the Church of -Rome. - -The Pagans believed that, immediately before the end of the world, there -would be mighty and frightful signs in the heavens; and that the then -living mortals would be struck with terror: likewise the Church of Rome -believes that, at the end of the world, the columns of the heavens will -be shaken; that the signs on high will be so frightful that the then -living men will be appalled: also there will be famine, pestilence, war -and murders over the whole earth. The Pagans believed that, at the sound -of a trumpet, the earth would deliver up her dead to be judged: likewise -the Church of Rome believes that four angels will sound a trumpet; and -that, when the four trumpets will resound over the earth, all the dead, -who had been buried either in the sea or in the earth, will come again -to life to be judged. - -The Pagans believed that geniuses would force men to the place of -judgment: likewise the Church of Rome believes that angels will gather, -from the four cardinal points of the earth, the multitude of men to the -place of judgment. The Pagans believed that men would be judged in a -meadow covered with astophels: likewise the Church of Rome believes that -the general judgment will take place in the valley of Josaphat. The -Pagans believed that, in the meadow, a throne would be erected, on which -Minos, the great judge, would sit: likewise the Church of Rome believes -that Jesus Christ, the great judge, will descend from heaven on clouds, -and will sit on a throne erected in the valley of Josaphat. The Pagans -believed that, near to the throne of Minos, Eacus, Rhadamante and -Triptolem, his assistant judges, and good geniuses, or spirits, would -stand: likewise the Church of Rome believes, that, near to the throne of -Jesus Christ, good angels will stand. - -The Pagans believed that, near to the throne of Minos, would stand -avenging furies, and a host of evil spirits, executioners of the -sentences of Minos against the wicked: likewise the Church of Rome -believes that there will be, at some distance from the throne of Jesus -Christ, a host of devils, executioners of the sentences of Jesus Christ -against the wicked. The Pagans believed that each man was led to the -redoubtable tribunal of Minos by the guardian spirit, who had -accompanied him during his whole life on earth: likewise the Church of -Rome believes that each man will be led to the redoubtable tribunal of -Jesus Christ by the guardian angel who has accompanied him during his -whole life on earth. - -The Pagans believed that Minos used three books in his judgments: the -first called book of life, for the righteous; the second called book of -death, for the great criminals; and the third for those who had been -neither righteous nor great criminals: likewise the Church of Rome -believes that Jesus Christ will use two books: the one called book of -life, for the righteous; and the other called book of death, for the -wicked. - -_Remark._--The Church of Rome does not hold that, at the general -judgment, Jesus Christ will use the third book; but holds that, in the -first judgment, he uses it for those of the dead who have been neither -righteous nor great criminals, and who thereby shall be sentenced to -Purgatory, which shall finish at the end of the world. Apropos of this -limitation of the duration of Purgatory, we might cursorily say that -this restriction has been wisely made by the far-sighted ministers of -the Church; for as, after the general judgment, they would be no longer -on earth, they could not say masses and other prayers, for the -deliverance of the souls detained in Purgatory; and thus it would be -quite useless to make the torments of Purgatory last any longer. - -The Pagans believed that the guardian spirit of each man, who had -accompanied him through life, and had kept a record of all his good and -bad actions, would testify to Minos in his favor, or against him: -likewise the Church of Rome believes that the guardian angel of each -man, who has accompanied him through life, and has kept a record of all -his good and bad actions, will testify to Jesus Christ in his favor, or -against him. The Pagans called the meadow of the general judgment, the -field of the truth: likewise the Church of Rome calls the valley of -Josaphat, the valley of the truth. The Pagans believed that the crimes -for which Minos was to inflict the severest punishment were those -against religion, against its hierophants, and against other ministers: -likewise the Church of Rome believes that the crimes for which Jesus -Christ is to inflict the severest punishment, are those against the -Church, against its Pope, against its bishops and its priests. The -Pagans believed that the neglect or omission of lustrations, and other -practices and teachings of the priests, would be severely punished by -Minos: likewise the Church of Rome believes that the neglect or omission -of the practices, ceremonies, and other prescriptions of the priests, -will be severely punished by Jesus Christ. - -The Pagans believed that those found righteous would be placed at the -right hand side of Minos, but the wicked at his left hand side: likewise -the Church of Rome believes that the righteous will be placed at the -right hand side of Jesus Christ, but the wicked at his left hand side. -The Pagans believed that the righteous would be destined, by Minos, to -eternal bliss in the Elysium; but that the wicked would be sentenced, by -Minos, to endless misery in the Tartarus: likewise the Church of Rome -believes that the righteous will be destined, by Jesus Christ, to -eternal bliss in Paradise; but that the wicked will be sentenced, by -Jesus Christ, to endless misery. The Pagans believed that the wicked -would carry on their back their sentence of condemnation, and the -enumeration of all their crimes: likewise the Church of Rome believes -that the wicked will carry on their back their sentence of condemnation, -and the enumeration of all their crimes. - -The Pagans believed that the guardian spirits of the righteous would -lead them to the Elysium: likewise the Church of Rome believes that the -angels of the Lord will lead them to heaven, in a procession preceded by -Jesus Christ. The Pagans believed that Furies, and other evil spirits, -would drag the wicked to the Tartarus: likewise the Church of Rome -believes that the devils will drive, with whips, the wicked to hell. The -Pagans believed that, after the general judgment, the earth would be -destroyed by fire: likewise the Church of Rome believes that the earth -will be destroyed by fire, and that then will the world end. - -Therefore there is a striking similarity between the particularities of -the doctrine of a general judgment, as held by the Pagans, and the -doctrine of a general judgment as held by the Church of Rome. - -3d. We prove that the Church of Rome did not hold the doctrine of a -general judgment from the apostles of Jesus Christ. - -The Church of Rome did not hold the doctrine of a general judgment from -the apostles of Jesus Christ, 1st, If the Roman Catholic theologians did -not understand the 24th chapter of Matthew, and the last sixteen verses -of the 25th; the 24th, 25th, 26th, and 27th verses of the 13th chapter -in Mark, and also the 25th, 26th, 27th, and 28th verses of the 21st -chapter in Luke, as meaning a general judgment; 2d, If nearly all the -Christian sects, or denominations, of the first and of the second -centuries, did not believe the doctrine of a general judgment; and, 3d, -If the doctrine of a general judgment is irrational. - -But, 1st, The Roman Catholic theologians did not understand the 24th -chapter of Matthew, and the last sixteen verses of the 25th; the 24th, -25th, 26th, and 27th verses of the 13th chapter in Mark; and also the -25th, 26th, 27th, and 28th verses of the 21st chapter in Luke, as -meaning a general judgment; 2d, Nearly all the Christian sects, or -denominations, of the first and of the second centuries, did not believe -the doctrine of a general judgment; and, 3d, The doctrine of a general -judgment is irrational. - -1st. We prove that the Roman Catholic theologians did not understand the -24th chapter of Matthew, and the last sixteen verses of the 25th; the -24th, 25th, 26th, and 27th verses of the 13th chapter in Mark; and also -the 25th, 26th, 27th, and 28th verses of the 21st chapter in Luke, as -meaning a general judgment. - -_Remark._--To save the reader the trouble of referring to his Bible, we -insert here the above passages of the Gospel, which the Partialists -suppose to teach the doctrine of a general judgment. - -Matthew, chap. 24.-1. "And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: -and his disciples came to _him_ for to show him the buildings of the -temple. 2. And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily -I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, -that shall not be thrown down. - -3. And as he sat upon the Mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him -privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what _shall -be_ the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? 4. And Jesus -answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. 5. For -many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. -6. And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not -troubled; for all _these things_ must come to pass, but the end is not -yet. 7. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against -kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, -in divers places. 8. All these _are_ the beginning of sorrows. 9. Then -shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye -shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. 10. And then shall -many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one -another. 11. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. -12. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. -13. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. 14. -And this Gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a -witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. 15. When ye, -therefore, shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel -the prophet, stand in the holy place; (whoso readeth, let him -understand;) 16. Then let them which be in Judea flee into the -mountains: 17. Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take -any thing out of his house: 18. Neither let him which is in the field -return back to take his clothes. 19. And wo unto them that are with -child, and to them that give suck in those days! 20. But pray ye that -your flight be not in the winter, neither on the Sabbath day: 21. For -then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of -the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22. And except those days -should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's -sake those days shall be shortened. 23. Then if any man shall say unto -you, Lo, here _is_ Christ, or there; believe _it_ not. 24. For there -shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great -signs and wonders; insomuch that, if _it were_ possible, they shall -deceive the very elect. 25. Behold, I have told you before. 26. -Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go -not forth: behold, _he is_ in the secret chambers; believe _it_ not. 27. -For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the -west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 28. For wheresoever -the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together. 29. -Immediately after the tribulation of those days, shall the sun be -darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall -fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: 80. And -then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall -all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man -coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31. And he -shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall -gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to -the other. - -32. Now learn a parable of the fig-tree; When his branch is yet tender, -and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: 33. So likewise -ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, _even_ at -the doors. 34. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, -till all these things be fulfilled. 35. Heaven and earth shall pass -away, but my words shall not pass away. 36. But of that day and hour -knoweth no _man_, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. 37. -But as the days of Noah _were_, so shall also the coming of the Son of -man be. 38. For as in the days that were before the flood, they were -eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that -Noah entered into the ark, 39. And knew not until the flood came, and -took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 40. -Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken and the other -left. 41. Two _women shall be_ grinding at the mill; the one shall be -taken, and the other left. - -42. Watch therefore; for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. 43. -But know this, that if the good man of the house had known in what watch -the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered -his house to be broken up. 44. Therefore be ye also ready; for in such -an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh. 45. Who then is a -faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his -household, to give them meat in due season? 46. Blessed _is_ that -servant, whom his lord, when he cometh, shall find so doing. 47. Verily -I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods. 48. But -and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his -coming; 49. And shall begin to smite _his_ fellow-servants, and to eat -and drink with the drunken; 50. The lord of that servant shall come in a -day when he looketh not for _him_, and in an hour that he is not aware -of, 51. And shall cut him asunder, and appoint _him_ his portion with -the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." - -Matthew, chapter 25.-31. "When the Son of man shall come in his glory, -and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of -his glory: 32. And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he -shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth _his_ sheep -from the goats: 33. And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but -the goats on the left. 34. Then shall the King say unto them on his -right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared -for you from the foundation of the world: 35. For I was a hungered, and -ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, -and ye took me in: 36. Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye -visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. 37. Then shall the -righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee a hungered, and fed -_thee_? or thirsty, and gave _thee_ drink? 38. When saw we thee a -stranger, and took _thee_ in? or naked, and clothed _thee_? 39. Or when -saw we thee sick, or in prison, and come unto thee? 40. And the King -shall answer and say unto them. Verily I say unto you. Inasmuch as ye -have done _it_ unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done -_it_ unto me. 41. Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand. -Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil -and his angels: 42. For I was a hungered, and ye gave me no meat: I was -thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: 43. I was a stranger, and ye took me -not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye -visited me not. 44. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when -saw we thee a hungered, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, -or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? 45. Then shall he answer -them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did _it_ not to one -of the least of these, ye did _it_ not to me. 46. And these shall go -away into everlasting punishment; but the righteous into life eternal." - -Luke, chapter 21.-25. "And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the -moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with -perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; 26. Men's hearts failing them -for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the -earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. 27. And then shall they -see the Son of man coming in a cloud, with power and great glory. 28. -And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up -your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh." - -Mark, chapter 13.-24. "But in those days, after that tribulation, the -sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light. 25. And -the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall -be shaken. 26. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the -clouds with great power and glory. 27. And then shall he send his -angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from -the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost parts of heaven." - -Bergier, one of the most classical of the Roman Catholic theologians, -says, in the first volume of his works, article Agnoetes, that, in the -sixth century, the theologians answered the Agnoetes as follows: "In -these texts, it is not a question of the day of the general judgment, -but of the day when Jesus Christ was to come to punish the Jewish nation -by the sword of the Romans." Then the Roman Catholic theologians did not -understand these texts as meaning a general judgment. - -Moreover, Bergier, writing against the Millenaries, says, article -World:--"The disciples of Christ, sometime before his resurrection, -spake to him of the structure of the temple of Jerusalem, Matthew, ch. -24, Mark, ch. 13, Luke, ch. 21. Jesus Christ told them that it shall be -destroyed; and that not one of the stones will be left upon the other. -The disciples, surprised, asked him when this shall take place; what -will be the signs of his coming, and of the end of the century. Then -there will be, he said, wars and seditions, earthquakes, pests, and -famines; ye yourselves will be persecuted and put to death; Jerusalem -will be surrounded with an army; the temple will be polluted; false -prophets will appear; there will be signs in the heaven; the sun and the -moon will be darkened, and the stars will fall from the firmament. Then -the Son of man will be seen coming in the clouds with great power and -majesty; his angels will gather the elect from one end of the world to -the other, etc. He announces all this as events to be witnessed by his -apostles; and he adds: 'Verily I say unto you, this generation shall -not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.' - -"Is it a question of the end of the world in all this? Opinions are -divided on this point. Some commentators think that, in these texts, -Jesus Christ simply prophesied the ruin of the religion, republic, and -nation of the Jews; and that all the circumstances were verified when -the Romans took and destroyed the nation; that, however, a few -expressions ought not to be taken literally, such as the fall of the -stars, etc.; that Jesus Christ has used the same style, and the same -images used by prophets, when they prophesied other events. Consequently -these commentators say that these words of Jesus Christ, 'This -generation shall not pass,' etc., signify, the Jews who now live will -not all be dead when these events will take place. In fact, Jerusalem -was taken and ruined less than forty years after. In this opinion it is -not a question in these texts of the end of the world. - -"Other commentators believe that Jesus Christ has joined the signs, -which were to precede the devastation of Judea, to those which will -appear at the end of the world, and before the general judgment; that -when he says: 'This generation shall not pass,' etc., he means that the -Jewish nation will not be entirely destroyed, but will subsist till the -end of the world. It cannot be denied that the word generation is used -several times in this sense in the Gospel." - -From this passage of Bergier we draw the following argument: - -Since the Roman Catholic theologians were, and are, divided in regard to -the meaning of the above texts, it follows that the Church of Rome did -not rest her doctrine of a general judgment on the above text. Therefore -the Church of Rome did not understand the above texts, namely, the 24th -chapter of Matthew, and the last sixteen verses of the 25th:--the 24th, -25th, 26th, and 27th verses of the 13th chapter in Mark; and also the -25th, 26th, 27th, and 28th verses of the 21st chapter in Luke, as -meaning a general judgment. - -2d. We prove that nearly all the Christian sects, or denominations, of -the first and of the second centuries, did not believe the doctrine of a -general judgment. - -The Basilidians, the Valentinians, the Marcionites, the Marcosians, the -Theodotians, the Carpocratians, the Docetes, the Tatianists, the -Apellites, the Montanists, the Artotyrites, the Ascites, the Ascodrutes, -the Ophites, the Cainites, and the Hermogenians believed in -Metempsychosis, and denied the resurrection of the body. From the fact -that these sects believed in Metempsychosis, and denied the resurrection -of the body, we argue: - -The doctrine of a general judgment supposes the resurrection of all the -dead; but the above sects denied the resurrection of the dead. Therefore -they denied also the doctrine of a general judgment. Therefore nearly -all the Christian sects, or denominations, of the first and of the -second centuries, did not believe the doctrine of a general judgment. - -More, we might say all the Christian sects of the first two centuries; -for, it was only at the end of the second century, that the sect of the -Millenaries, who believed in a general judgment, sprung up; and, -besides, history is silent about the belief of the Church of Rome (which -then was confined within the boundaries of the Province of Rome,) in -regard to the doctrine of a general judgment. - -3d. The doctrine of a general judgment is irrational, because a first -judgment, by Jesus Christ, having taken place, a second one would be -useless. - -4th. We prove that the Church of Rome did not hold the doctrine of a -general judgment from the Jews. - -The Roman Catholic authors never pretended, and still now do not -pretend, that the Jews believed the doctrine of a general judgment. - -Then the Church of Rome did not hold the doctrine of a general judgment -from the Jews. - -We draw the general conclusions of this chapter: - -It has been proved, 1st, That the Pagans held the doctrine of a general -judgment of all the then living, and of all the dead, which shall take -place at the end of the world; 2d, That there is a striking similarity -between the particularities of the doctrine of a general judgment, as -held by the Pagans, and the doctrine of a general judgment, as held by -the Church of Rome; 3d, That the Church of Rome did not hold the -doctrine of a general judgment from the apostles of Jesus Christ; and, -4th, That the Church of Rome did not hold this doctrine from the Jews. - -Therefore the Church of Rome borrowed the doctrine of a general judgment -from the Pagans. - -_Therefore the doctrine of a general judgment of all the then living, -and of all the dead, which shall take place at the end of the world, is -of Pagan origin._ - - - - -CHAPTER XI. - -PAGAN ORIGIN OF THE DOCTRINE OF VICARIOUS ATONEMENT. - - -THE doctrine of Vicarious Atonement supposes the dogma of a Personal -Devil, the dogma of Original Sin, the dogma of Trinity, and the dogma of -the Supreme Divinity of Jesus Christ. As in four chapters of this work -we have proved that these four dogmas are of Pagan origin, we shall -examine, in this chapter, the true origin of the body itself of the -doctrine of Vicarious Atonement, which consists in the belief that a -small number of privileged Christians obtain the forgiveness of their -sins, and are exempted from the punishment of those sins through the -medium of a substitute. Our historical researches will also lead us to -the conclusion that it is of Pagan origin. - -In the sixteenth century the Church of Rome held, and still now holds, -the doctrine that Jesus Christ had washed away with his blood all the -past, present and future sins of the men who would be within the pale of -his only true Church, which was herself, and also that he had exempted -them from the punishment of their sins. However, they were to enjoy -these two privileges only on the condition that they would obey her -prescriptions. The Partialist Protestant Churches rejected nearly all -the prescriptions of the Church of Rome; rejected the doctrine that she -was the only true Church of Jesus Christ; but they preserved the -substance of the doctrine, namely, that Jesus Christ had washed away all -the sins of those who would feel the descent of the Holy Spirit in their -souls; who would experience a supernatural change of heart, or, as they -commonly term it, would get religion; and also that through his -atonement they are exempted from the punishment of their sins. - -Consequently, the Partialist Protestant Churches, as well as the Church -of Rome, hold the doctrine that a small number of privileged Christians -obtain the forgiveness of their sins, and are exempted from the -punishment of those sins through the medium of a substitute. Then if it -is proved that the origin of the doctrine that a small number of -privileged Christians obtain the forgiveness of their sins, and are -exempted from the punishment of those sins, through the medium of a -substitute--as held by the Church of Rome--is Pagan, it will thereby be -proved that the doctrine that a small number of privileged Christians -obtain the forgiveness of their sins, and are exempted from the -punishment of those sins, through the medium of a substitute--as held by -the Partialist Protestant Churches--is also of Pagan origin. - -In this chapter we shall prove that the origin of the doctrine that a -small number of privileged Christians obtain the forgiveness of their -sins, and are exempted from the punishment of those sins through the -medium of a substitute--as held by the Church of Rome--is Pagan. - -It will be evident that the origin of the doctrine that a small number -of privileged Christians obtain the forgiveness of their sins, and are -exempted from the punishment of their sins, through the medium of a -substitute--as held by the Church of Rome--is Pagan, if it is proved, -1st, That there is a striking similarity between the practices required -by the Church of Rome to obtain the forgiveness of sins, and to be -exempted from the punishment of those sins, and those which were, and -still now are, required in the Pagan religion for the same purpose; and, -2d, That those practices were not instituted among Christians in the -first two centuries. But it can be proved, 1st, That there is a striking -similarity between the practices required by the Church of Rome to -obtain the forgiveness of sins, and to be exempted from the punishment -of those sins, through the medium of a substitute, and those which were, -and still now are, required in the Pagan religion for the same purpose; -and, 2d, That those practices were not instituted among Christians in -the first two centuries. - -1st. We prove that there is a striking similarity between the practices -required by the Church of Rome to obtain the forgiveness of sins, and -to be exempted from the punishment of those sins, through the medium of -a substitute, and those which were, and still now are, required in the -Pagan religion for the same purpose. - -The Pagans, publicly and privately, used lustral water, which, they -thought, had the virtue of purifying the soul, and of remitting the -punishment of certain impurities and sins. The Priests, in solemn -religious ceremonies, aspersed the assistants with it; and the people -kept and used it in their families. In the same manner, the Church of -Rome believes that holy water has the virtue of purifying the soul, and -of remitting the punishment of certain impurities and sins. The Roman -Catholics use it publicly and privately. Every Sunday, before the -celebration of the high mass, the priests asperse the people with holy -water for the aforesaid end; and also pour it on the coffins of the dead -at the funerals. The laymen keep and use it in their families for the -same end. - -These lustrations are practiced, even in our days, by many of the -Pagans. The Madegasses believe that they can obtain the forgiveness of -the punishment of their sins in dipping a piece of gold in a vessel full -of water, and in drinking that water. The Father Jesuit Bouchet, a -missionary in India, writes: "The Indians say that in bathing in certain -rivers sins are _entirely_ remitted; and that their mysterious waters -wash not only the bodies, but also purify the souls in an admirable -manner." - -This testimony, Chateaubriand adds, is confirmed by the Memoirs of the -English Society of Calcutta. The waters of the Ganges are reputed as -having the greatest expiatory virtue: so the Church of Rome holds that -the baptismal waters remit the original and all other sins, and exempt -those baptized from punishment. - -The Pagans believed that certain ceremonies, and their medals -representing the gods, had an expiatory virtue: so the Church of Rome -holds that genuflexions, the Agnus Dei, the beads, the medals of the -saints, and of the virgin Mary, have an expiatory virtue. The Pagans -believed that certain prayers remitted certain sins and their -punishment; so the Church of Rome believes that Novenas, indulgences, -the recitation of the first chapter of the Gospel of John, etc., remit -venial sins, and their punishment. The Pagans went in pilgrimage to -chapels, where the prayers of the priests, they thought, had an -expiatory virtue greater than in other temples; this practice and this -belief have been preserved even by the Mahomedans. Now there are at the -door of the Mosque of Ali, at Mesched-Aly, dervishes, who, for money, -expiate with their prayers the sins of the pilgrims: so the Church of -Rome believes that the expiatory virtue of the prayers made by priests, -in certain chapels of saints and of Mary, where multitudes of pilgrims -resort, is greater than that of the prayers made in other temples. - -In China, the invocation of Omyto is sufficient to remit the punishment -of the greatest crimes. It is on account of it that the followers of the -sect of Fo repeat oftentimes, every day, the words, O-myto-Fo! The -Indians believed, and still believe, that when a man expires in -pronouncing the name of God, and in holding, at the same time, the tail -of a cow, he immediately ascends to Paradise. The Bramas never failed, -and even do not now, to read every morning the mysterious legend of -Gosgendre-Mootsjam; because it is a dogma of the Indian religion that -any one who reads this legend every morning, obtains the forgiveness of -the punishment of all his sins; so the Church of Rome holds that any one -who recites the Angelus when the bell rings, in the morning, at noon, -and at sun down, or recites the acts of faith, of hope, and of charity, -obtains the remittance of the punishment of several of his venial sins; -and, also, that any one who regularly recites the prayers of Saint -Brigitte, or who, when he dies, recites with great devotion the prayer -Memorare o piissima, etc., will go to Paradise. - -Greece was flooded with rituals, ascribed to Orpheus and to Museus, -prescribing ceremonies, rites, and practices, which had the virtue of -purifying the soul, and of exempting the sinners from the punishment of -their sins. The priests of the Pagans persuaded entire towns, cities, -and nations, that they could be purified of their crimes, and be -exempted from the punishment, which the Deity would inflict upon them, -through the means of expiatory rites, of feasts, and of initiations. -They made the people believe that this purification, and this exemption, -could extend to the living and to the dead, in what they called Teletes, -or mysteries; and it was as a consequence of this belief that the -priests of Cybel, those of Isis, the Orpheotelestes and others, went -among the people to initiate them; but on the condition that they would -pay to them large sums of money. This traffic was practiced even by -priestesses, and bad women. Demosthenes informs us that the mother of -Eschine made a living by it, and also in prostituting her body. - -Likewise, the Church of Rome is flooded with rituals prescribing -ceremonies, rites, and practices, which have the virtue of purifying the -soul, and of exempting the sinners from the punishment of their sins. -The priests make towns, cities, and nations believe that they can be -purified of their crimes, and be exempted of the punishment they -deserve, by fasting, by going processionally to churches, or to chapels -of saints and of the virgin Mary. The priests, the monks, the -begging-friars, and even the nuns, go among the people; they pledge -themselves to obtain the forgiveness of their sins, and the exemption -from divine punishment, if they give them sums of money. - -The priests of the Pagans offered expiatory sacrifices for the living -and for the dead for money; so, in the Church of Rome, the priests offer -the sacrifice of Mass for the expiation of the sins of the living and -of the dead, if they are well paid. The Pagans believed that the -foundation of temples, their endowment, and other gifts presented to the -gods and to their priests, had an expiatory virtue. Socrates portrayed -the unjust man in saying, that initiation to mysteries caused them to -despise the Tartarus with all its torments. He made the following -remark: "The apologist of injustice says, they frighten us with the -threat of the pains of the Tartarus; but who ignores that we find in the -initiations a remedy to that fear? They are a great resource to us; and -they inform us that there are gods who exempt us from the punishment -deserved by crime. True, we have committed injustice, but injustice has -been pecuniarily profitable to us. We are told that the gods are -appeased by prayers, sacrifices, and offerings." Biache, one of the -interlocutors in the Ezourvedam, said, that there is in the country -called Magouodechan, a sacred spot, where, through some offerings, -ancestors can be freed from the tortures of hell. - -Likewise, the Church of Rome holds that the foundation of churches, of -priest's houses, of monasteries, of convents, and of nunneries, and -their endowment; or any other gift, presented to the saints, bishops, -priests, monks, and nuns have a virtue so much the more expiatory for -sins, as they are greater and more valuable. It is owing to this -horrible doctrine, that the Church of Rome has acquired so much church -property that its valuation is beyond any approximate calculation. The -French poet, Boileau, spoke the truth when, in his ninth satire, he -said: - - "Si l'on vient a chercher pour quel secret mystere, - Alidor, a ses frais, batit un monastere.... - C'est un homme d'honneur, de piete profonde, - Et qui veut rendre a Dieu ce qu'il a pris au monde." - -_Translation_: "If we wish to inquire for what secret mystery Alidor, at -his own expense, built a monastery.... He is a man of honor, of profound -piety, and who wishes to restore to God what he stole from the world." - -The Pagans believed that in piously gazing upon certain statues of the -gods their souls were purified; and that the punishment of their sins -was remitted; so, even now, the Indians believe that in simply gazing -upon the shrub Toulouschi they obtain the forgiveness of their sins, and -obtain the exemption from their punishment. Likewise the Church of Rome -holds, that, in gazing piously upon the cross, the Catholics obtain the -forgiveness of their venial sins, and the exemption from their -punishment. The ancient initiations of the Pagans had tribunals of -penance, where a priest, under the name of Koes, heard from the mouth of -the sinners themselves the avowal of their sins, of which their souls -were to be purified, and from the punishment of which they wished to be -exempted. One day the famous Lysandre, confessing his sins to one of -those Koes, was asked by him impudent questions. Lysandre answered him -with this question, "Do you address me those questions in your own name, -or in the name of the Deity?" The Koes answered: "In the name of the -Deity." "Well," Lysandre rejoined, "let me be; if God questions me, I -will answer him." Likewise the Church of Rome has tribunals of penance, -where priests hear from the mouth of the sinners themselves the avowal -of their sins, of which their souls are to be purified, and from the -punishment of which they wish to be exempted. Through the absolution of -the priests the greatest sins, without any exemption, are remitted -entirely, so that they not only are forgiven, but even their punishment. - -Even the Church of Rome goes farther in regard to the pretended virtue -of her expiatory practices, than the Pagans ever went. Indeed, it was a -common thing among the Pagans to stigmatize certain crimes, and to call -them irremissible--unexpiable. They excluded from the sanctuaries of -Eleusis, the murderers, the traitors to their country, in a word, all -those who were guilty of atrocious crimes; they were to be excluded from -the Elysium forever, and to be endlessly tortured in the Tartarus. There -were purifications for murder, it is true, but only for involuntary or -necessary murder. When the ancient heroes had committed a murder, they -resorted to expiation; after the sacrifices which were required, -lustral water was poured on the murderous hand; from that moment they -were readmitted in society; and they prepared themselves to new deeds of -bravery. Hercules resorted to expiation when he had slain the Centaurs. -But those sorts of expiations did not purify the soul from all -impurities and crimes. - -The great criminals had to dread all their lifetime the horrors of the -Tartarus, or could not expiate their crimes, except by constantly -practicing virtue, and constantly doing good to their fellow men. The -legal purifications were not considered as having the virtue of securing -to all criminals the hope of bliss, to which the righteous were -entitled. Nero did not dare present himself to the temple of Eleusis; -because he was debarred from entering its sanctuary on account of his -atrocious crimes. - -The famous Constantine I., to whom the Church of Rome is indebted for -all her past and present aggrandizement, wealth, and power; and whose -name has been, is, and shall always be, accursed by nations, because of -the rivers of blood, of the deluge of ignorance, of superstition, in one -word, of the ocean of crimes against God, against Christ, and against -mankind, which the Church of Rome, enabled by his protection, poured -over the world: Constantine, we say, guilty of all sorts of crimes; his -hands reeking with the blood of his own mother, whom he had slain; and -with the blood of the many, whom he had murdered; and guilty of many -perjuries, presented himself to the Pagan priests to obtain the -absolution of those atrocious crimes, and the exemption from their -punishment. - -Constantine was answered, that, among the various sorts of expiations, -there was not one which had the virtue of purifying his soul from so -many and so atrocious crimes, and of exempting him from the punishment -they deserved; and that no religion had resources enough to appease the -justice of the irritated gods; and, let us mark: Constantine was a -mighty emperor. One of his courtiers, seeing the trouble and agitation -of his soul, devoured by the restless and undying remorse, told him that -his sufferings were not hopeless; that there were in the Church of Rome, -purifications which had the virtue of expiating all crimes, without any -exception, that this Church held, that whoever joined it, whatever may -be his crimes, might hope that all his crimes will be forgiven by the -Deity, and that the exemption from their punishment will be obtained. - -From that time Constantine took the Church of Rome under his protection. -He was a wicked man who tried to deceive himself, and to appease the -remorse of his conscience. He gave then full scope to his -flagitiousness; and he postponed being baptized until the hour of his -death, because it was, as it is now, a dogma of the Church of Rome, that -baptism purifies the soul from the original and all other sins and -crimes, and that it has also the virtue of exempting those baptized -from the punishment of all their sins. Thus the entry of the temple of -Eleusis was interdicted to Nero; and yet the Church of Rome would have -admitted him within her pale; would have purified his soul; and would -have exempted him from the punishment of all his monstrous crimes, if he -had taken her under his protection. How abominable a Church must be, -when she deals so with tyrants and monsters with a human face! What! if -Nero had been a Roman Catholic and had protected the Church of Rome, she -would have canonized him! Why not? Constantine, as great a criminal as -he was, has been canonized. In the ninth century his name was invoked at -Rome in the ceremonies of the Church, and even now he is considered as a -saint. - -In England several churches have been built under the invocation of this -pretended Saint Constantine, who founded at Constantinople a vast and -costly establishment of ill fame. Such are the saints worshiped by the -Church of Rome when she obtains their protection. Christ, reason, and -nature, would never have absolved Nero from his crimes, and from the -punishment they deserved; and yet the Church of Rome would have done it. -Sophocles, in his Aedipe, says, that all the waters of the Danube, and -of the Phase, would have been insufficient to purify, from their crimes, -the souls of the family of Laius; and yet the Church of Rome would have -done it. How truly the Arab poet Abu-Naovas exclaimed: "Lord, we have -indulged to sin and to crime, because we saw that forgiveness soon -followed them." - -Therefore there is a striking similarity between the practices required -by the Church of Rome, to obtain the forgiveness of sins, and to be -exempted from the punishment of those sins, through the medium of a -substitute, and those which were required in the Pagan religion for the -same purpose. - -2. We prove that the practices required by the Church of Rome to obtain -the forgiveness of sins, and to be exempted from the punishment of those -sins, through the medium of a substitute, were not instituted among -Christians in the first two centuries. - -The Roman Catholic theologians do not pretend that the Christians of the -first two centuries held those practices, nor that the Church of Rome -herself held them; but they say that the Church of Rome established them -successively, as the good of Christians required it, according to the -power of government and infallibility granted to her, and to her alone, -by Jesus Christ. - -Consequently, the practices required by the Church of Rome, to obtain -the forgiveness of sins, and to be exempted from the punishment of those -sins, were not instituted among Christians in the first two centuries. - -We draw the general conclusions of this chapter: - -It has been proved that there is a striking similarity between the -practices required by the Church of Rome to obtain the forgiveness of -sins, and to be exempted from the punishment of those sins, and those -which were, and still now are, required in the Pagan religion for the -same purpose; and that those practices were not instituted among -Christians in the first two centuries. - -Therefore the Church of Rome borrowed from the Pagans the doctrine of -Vicarious Atonement, namely, that a small number of privileged -Christians obtain the forgiveness of their sins, and are exempted from -the punishment of their sins, through the medium of a substitute. - -Since, though the other Partialist Christian Churches rejected the most -of the practices used by the Church of Rome to obtain the forgiveness of -sins, and the exemption from the punishment of those sins, they -preserved the substance of the doctrine, namely, that Jesus Christ had -washed away, or, in other words, atoned for all the sins of those who -would feel the descent of the Holy Spirit in their souls; who would -experience a supernatural change of heart, or, as they commonly term it, -would get religion; and also that through his atonement they were -exempted from the punishment of their sins--the doctrine which they hold -is nothing but the very doctrine, though modified in its circumstances, -of the Church of Rome. Therefore its origin is the same. But it has been -proved that the Church of Rome borrowed from the Pagans, the doctrine -that a small number of privileged Christians obtain the forgiveness of -their sins, and are exempted from the punishment of those sins, through -the medium of a substitute--as she holds it. Therefore it is thereby -proved, that the other Partialist Christian Churches truly borrowed, -from the Pagans, though through the medium of the Church of Rome, the -doctrine that a small number of privileged Christians obtain the -forgiveness of their sins, and are exempted from the punishment of those -sins, through the medium of a substitute--as she holds it. - -Therefore the doctrine that a small number of privileged Christians -obtain the forgiveness of their sins, and are exempted from the -punishment of those sins, through the medium of a substitute, is of -Pagan origin. And as, on another hand, it has been proved, in four other -chapters of this work, that the doctrine of a Personal Devil, the -doctrine of Original Sin, the doctrine of Trinity, and the doctrine of -the Supreme Divinity of Jesus Christ, are of Pagan origin--then we -logically draw the conclusion that all the characteristics of the -doctrine of Vicarious Atonement are of Pagan origin. Since all the -characteristics of the doctrine of Vicarious Atonement are of Pagan -origin, then the body itself of the doctrine of Vicarious Atonement is -of Pagan origin. - -_Therefore the doctrine of Vicarious Atonement is of Pagan origin._ - - - - -CONCLUSION OF ALL THE CHAPTERS. - -THEREFORE PARTIALIST DOCTRINES ARE OF PAGAN ORIGIN. - - -_Corollary._--Since the Partialist doctrines are of Pagan origin they -are not taught in the Scriptures, for the Scriptures do not reveal -Paganism. Consequently they ought to be rejected from Christian -Churches, as being Heathen doctrines. - - - - -VALEDICTORY. - - -_Dear Reader_,--Before I drop the pen permit me to address to you a few -valedictory words. If you believe the _Impartialist_, namely, -Universalist doctrines, you are now in possession of an irrefutable -historical proof corroborating your beloved faith, which is satisfactory -to your mind, and sweet to your heart. If from your infancy up to this -day you have been taught, and have believed, the Partialist doctrines, -perhaps you say to yourself: My religious creed is now shaken to its -very foundation; what then will my religious belief be, for the want of -religious principles is the most earnest longing of my soul? Friend, -study the _Impartialist_, namely, Universalist doctrines; compare them -with the teaching of the Scriptures, and you will find them recorded -therein. They truly are the embodiment of the teaching of the -Scriptures, which are themselves embodied in these two vital maxims of -Jesus Christ, written in golden letters on the Universalist banner: -"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy -soul, and with all thy mind.--This is the first and great commandment. -And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as -thyself.--On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." - - - - - * * * * * * - - - - -Transcriber's note: - - Blank pages have been eliminated. - - Variations in spelling and hyphenation have been left as in the - original. - - A few typographical errors have been corrected. - - - -***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PAGAN ORIGIN OF PARTIALIST -DOCTRINES*** - - -******* This file should be named 43630.txt or 43630.zip ******* - - -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: -http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/4/3/6/3/43630 - - - -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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