THE GNOSTICS.

A 020 AYTO *H$ON AEYKHN KAT Em THN H$ON ONOMA

KAINON TErPAMMENON O 0YAEI2 ErNO El MH O AAMB AN ON.
Apoc.

ii.

17.

To face the Title-Page.

THE GNOSTICS
AND THEIR REMAINS,

ANCIENT AND MEDIAEVAL.

By

W. KING, M.A>

C.

FELLOW OF TRINITY COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE, AUTHOR OF ANTIQUE GEMS.

LONDON
BELL AND DALDY,

186,

FLEET STREET.

CAMBRIDGE DEIGHTON, BELL, &

:

MDCCCLXIV.

CO.

LONDON

PRINTED BY

TV. CLOWES AND SONS, STAMFORD

AND CHARING CROSS.

ST BEET,

PREFACE.
That nothing upon

this subject

should hitherto have been

attempted in the English language, except by Dr. Walsh, seems

to

me

a sufficient excuse for undertaking the same task on a

more comprehensive plan.

Dr. Walshs

little

book

is

in fact

nothing more than a bare epitome of Beausobre, illustrated

from the very scanty store of materials at his command, and

like his authority, based

Taking

for granted,

upon a principle altogether

upon the

fallacious.

assertion of their opponents, that

the several chiefs of the Gnosis were mere heretics, that

perverters of the Christian doctrines that they

embraced as a Divine revelation,

had

is,

originally

he, like his guide, does

not trouble himself to trace out the true origin of their

theories,

but

is

content with sketching their principal features

whilst in explaining their

monuments, he

them according

to his

however

school,

and

own ungrounded and

pre-

really diverse in nature, to one and the

interprets

refers all,

conceived notions of their character.

same

On

such a system,

neither the doctrines themselves, nor the relics they have left

behind in such profusion, are susceptible of even a plausible

explanation,

quiring mind.

much

less of

The plan

one capable of satisfying an

which unfortunate circumstances have prevented

executing, has been,

first

in-

therefore proposed to myself, but

my

fully

to review the grand religious systems

of the East flourishing at the time of the establishment of

Christianity in those regions,

and

their necessary influence on

PREFACE.

VI

the modes of thought and expression both of

its

missionaries

and of its first converts next, by the testimony of the Apostle

;

to the Gentiles himself, clearly to establish the existence of

all

the germs of the Gnosis, in those

cities

which were the

scene of his most important labours.

my

In

sketch of these systems I have done

more than

little

condense Matters admirable Introduction to his

Critique du Gnosticisme

on

my

Histoire

but thenceforward I have carried

my conviction

investigations according to a theory, in

the only true one, which, although he once alludes approvingly

to

it,

he has entirely neglected to follow out to

consequences.

and elegant
archs,

its

necessary

Restricting himself to describing in his lucid

style,

the speculations of the respective heresi-

and going no further back than the Zend-avesta and

the Kabala for the store-houses whence they borrowed their

mystic principles, he errs in representing

novel,

1.

all their

systems as

and the pure compositions of the teachers themselves.

That the seeds of the Gnosis were originally of Indian

growth, and carried westward by the influence of that vast

Buddhist movement, which in the

fifth

century before our

era had overspread all the East from Thibet to Ceylon, was

me on

hinted at by Matter, and became apparent to

slight acquaintance with the

theosophy.

To shew

this,

a very

fundamental doctrines of Indian

the two systems in their two most

perfected forms, that of Valentinus and that of the Nepaulese

Buddhists, are briefly described and confronted

and through-

out innumerable points of analogy will be found indicated.

In the history of the

first

four centuries of the Church,

everything that was denounced as heretical,

to Indian speculative philosophy, as

how much

its

may be

traced up

genuine fountain-head

that passed current for orthodox, had really flowed

PREFACE.
from the same source,

now

Vll

neither expedient nor decorous

it is

to inquire.

In order to obtain a clear view of the principal forms of

Gnosticism, as well as to escape relying upon second-hand

more than ever untrustworthy),

descriptions (in this case

began by

whilst collecting materials, I

Vast

Panarion of Epiphanius

paid by the yivid picture

state of society

so fiercely
is

it

carefully perusing the

a laborious task, but well re-

everywhere presents of the inner

under the Lower Empire, and of the war then

waged between Reason and

during the

three

first

centuries.

Irenseus for the earlier ages

value, being

drawn from

having in early

Its

the later part

ecclesiastical powers,

of the greatest

After his days,

philosophy,

and luxuriant weeds

the secular combining with the

having made

to eradicate all such daring

2.

is

field of theological

so diversified before with the strange

or flowers of the Gnosis

developments

author transcribes

his personal experience, the writer

nothing novel sprang up in the

human

all its

joined the Marcosians.

life

This treatise

Faith.

a connected history of the Gnosis in

and

their duty to crush

and

irregular growths of

the

it

mind.

After considering the class that owed

its birth to India,

next in importance for her contributions to the opinions, and

vastly

her
its

more

to the

monuments

primseval religion.

In

its

before us, comes

Romanised and

Egypt with

latest disguise,

productions are often confounded with the true offspring

of the

Gnosis.

These are discriminated, their

characters pointed

out,

and ranged under

distinctive

their

several

heads, according as they were designed for a religious or

for a medicinal object.
3.

Much

space has been devoted to that ingenious figment

of the Alexandrian mystic, the Abraxas Pantheos,

who has

PREFACE.

Ylll

given his

name

to the entire class of talismans,

many

them

of

long anterior in date to his creation in a visible form,

many

belonging to ideas totally unconnected with his religion.

Of

the figure, the personage thereby typified, and the true

meaning

name and

of his

has been collected, and

different titles,

much

much

information

heretofore but little known, pre-

sented in a compact form to those curious to learn

been

satisfactorily established

The Mithraic

religion,

all

that has

upon these abstruse questions.

under whose kindly shelter so much

of Occidental Christianity grew

up unmolested,

is

next re-

viewed, and the causes pointed out for this alliance, at

sight so inexplicable.
affinity

of so

With

this are

first

connected the singular

between the ceremonial of the two, and the transfer

much

originally Mithraic into the usage of the orthodox

and several curious memorials will be found adduced that

bear testimony to this gradual transition.
4.

After this review of the several elements which the

up with

various chiefs of Gnosticism worked

so

much

genuity into one consistent whole, incorporating with

in-

them

such parts of the Christian doctrine as harmonised with the

rest,

we come

better prepared to the

symbols and the terminology

consideration of the

whereby their ideas were com-

municated to those initiated into their arcana

figures

and

siglce

composite

having a voice to the wise, but which the

vulgar heareth not.

Astrology justly claims as
relics

its

own a

large proportion of the

popularly termed Gnostic, for Gnosticism from the

beginning had united

its

own

speculations with those of the

Magians national science, and borrowed

vehicle for
cani,

its

own

its

machinery as a

peculiar ideas, the Astral Genii, the

and the Myriogeneses

and under

this head, also, I

De-

have

endeavoured to separate the purely astrological from the bor-

PREFACE.
rowed types.

Then pour

IX

with countless multitudes, the

in,

true offspring of the Kabala, the long strings of bare legends

which betray the handywork of the image-hating dreamers

of the Jewish schools of Alexandria

and Babylon;

spells,

even then ascribed to Solomon, that secured the protection

and favour
of those demons that are found
In

fire, air, flood,

or under ground

Whose power hath a true consent

With planet or with element.

5.

One

object kept in view throughout this treatise,

show how the productions of the

is

to

different sources are to

be

distinguished from each other, a point to which particular

numerous

attention has been paid in the description of the

my

relics collected in

plates

and thus in some degree to

remedy the confusion that reigns

department. As Matter

at present in the whole

treats of the doctrines alone,

and only

quotes the monuments in illustration of his remarks, and the

present essay

is

designed to be subsidiary to his invaluable

him

reader to

treatise, I refer the

for the

complete elucidation

my

of the philosophy of the subject, and have given

attention

to

the

archaeological

portion (which

is

chief

cursorily

passed over by him), in which nothing has been done since

the publications of Chiflet and of Montfaucon.
6.

The Gnosis

in its last

and greatest manifestation, the

composite religion of Manes , remains to be considered;

its

and

its

wonderful revival and

diffusion in mediaeval Europe,

supposed connection with the downfall of the Templars.

The assigned grounds

for this

to give

any opinion upon

difficult

problem in

fate is coupled that

event are adduced

their validity

all history.

With

most singular

is

about the most

their scandal

fact of

although

modern

and their
times, the

PREFACE.

retention

by

their asserted successors the Freemasons, of so

much symbolism unmistakably

this,

Gnostic in

its

For

origin.

however, unfortunately for the lovers of mystery, a very

matter-of-fact, but doubtless true

research be brought to light

mind

brings irresistibly to

and the solution of the enigma

JEsops apologue of the fox,

he had summoned up courage to

his exclamation after

This section

illustrated

is

by

all

and
in-

and awe-inspiring

vestigate the interior of a certain venerable

mask.

much

cause, can without

the information that

I have been able to glean from various sources, on that curious

Marks ;

subject Masons

those enigmatical symbols, which

common

yet existing and in

use amongst ourselves, and

amongst the Hindoos in their daily religious usages, can be

traced backwards through Gnostic employment and Gothic
retention, through old

and thus

source,

Greek and Etruscan

attest convincingly

art to their first

what country gave birth

to the theosophy that made, in Imperial times, so large a use

of the

same

siglce.

To

this subject further, I

the

all

lists

assist inquirers desirous of

pursuing

have been careful to give references to

of those marks that have fallen in

and have observed the same rule with regard

my way

to other

mono-

graphs illustrative of the different points discussed in the

In this way the shortcomings of

following pages.

may be

supplied

for entering

for I

am

well aware

how

theless, it being

borgne est

most true that dans

roi,

there

is

room

for

(more suggestive than anything

and

am

essay

equipped

on these investigations, except in the point of

practical acquaintance with the actual

le

ill

my

monuments.
le

Never-

pays des aveugles

hoping that

else) will

my

attempts

prove both novel

interesting.

Related to these in nature are Talismans and Amulets

generally.

Their employment, and the superstitions to which

PREFACE.

xi

they owe their origin, are noticed under this head, and the
derivation of

many

legends

of the Mediaeval from a Gnostic source

key to some of their Kabalistic

whilst the

is established,

supplied by following out this principle

is

in a

way

probably more to the purpose than any hitherto suggested.

6.

The idea

Death has furnished the richest crop

of

of such imagery, the fancy endeavouring to

familiarize

itself

to the

notion of mortality.

relation to art, this being a subject

my

collectanea on the head are

inquiry

Wie

importance

den Tod

die Alten

of

every

that

relic

primitive ages of Christianity

cessive rarity.
art in this

Besides

its

of universal interest,

is

gebildet.

can

in his curious

The

peculiar

be referred to the

augmented by

their

ex-

All the examples produced by the glyptic

branch that I have been able to examine are

and some remarks are

described,

and

somewhat extensive, and

embrace many points neglected by Lessing

f

express

on the singular

offered

permutation of the primary sense in which certain amongst

them came

With

my

respect to

surprised

records

to be accepted.

at

being

their

of such

small

and think

illustrations,

some doubtless

drawn almost

apparent

plete,

and blame the author

for not

exclusively from

work therefore incom-

having had recourse to

remains of a more public character.

is,

be

importance as engraved

this portion of the

stones

will

But

restriction

this

in truth, the necessary result of the nature of the things

here treated

Secret societies,

of.

which the maxim was, as Clemens

especially that
tells us,

one of

the truly wise

one,
Learn to

erect no

know

monuments

all,

but keep thyself unknown,

to attract the public attention

they deal

PREFACE.

Xll

in symbols to be privately circulated, in pass- words

to the illuminati

or else they

embody

known only

their tenets in mystic

drawings like the Ophite Diagramma, and in papyri long

less

The non-antiquary

committed to the flames.

since

exclaim against the rudeness of

which

drawings in the

fact,

rude as they are, they in

flatter their originals,

the extreme barbarism of

lithographic plates;

most cases

my

will doubt-

but in

was often impossible to reproduce, and yet make

it

Be

the design intelligible.

remembered that

it

Gratia non habitat, non hoc Cyllenius antro

Pallas no longer, as in the elder ages of the art, guided the

and Bhavani

engravers hand,

but

Hermes and

suggested his designs

ful,

Isis)

Siva

monster-imaged genii of the Kabala.

under

fear,

its

various modifications,

(ill-disguised

as

or else the spite-

now

The

religion of

reigned supreme,

and was fast banishing the beauteous, sensuous, mythology

of the old

Greek nature-worship,

was malignant, or hideous in

The

its

into

which nothing that

nature,

was ever admitted.

virtue of the talisman lay in the type

own

in its

material substance

it

embodied, and

the manner of the execution

of the potent sigil was altogether unconsidered.

About half the number are from drawings made by myself

of such examples as

years

fell

under

my

notice during the last few

the scrupulous fidelity of these

afterwards

when my own

sight

may

be relied on

no longer availed me, the

kindness of the then owner of the originals came to

assistance,

They

my

and furnished the remainder of the sketches.

in fact were chiefly derived

from the extensive and

unpublished series comprised in the ancient Praun Collection

(formed three centuries ago), and

persed.

An

old

and valued

friend

last

year unhappily

dis-

who had recommended

xm

PREFACE.
the reproduction of
the

first

three plates

conspicuous.

work

for after

contents,
into

it

my
;

collection of outlines, lithographed

the superiority of these to the rest

is

These were the foundation of the present

drawing up the detailed description of their

became necessary

an available shape to

to put

illustrate

my numerous collectanea
my explanations, and the

grounds on which they were based

the treatise assumed

its

and thus by degrees

present form.

In those rare instances where the beauty of the work of

art deserved reproduction

by a more

skilful

hand, I have been

indebted to the graver of Mr. R. B. Utting, who has executed

the woodcuts with a spirit as well as accuracy that leave

nothing to be desired.

C.

Michaelmas, 1864.

W. KING.

CONTENTS.
PAGE

Gnosticism defined

. .

The Zendavesta

The Kabala

10

The Talmud

14

Indian sources of Gnostic ideas

16

The Buddhistic system

21

The Ophites

26

or Serpent* worshippers

Abraxas-gems

Abraxas

33

true etymology of the

name

The iEons

37

Procession of the Logos, or

Egyptian

36

Deities,

how

Word

represented

38

40

Egyptian Symbols explained

42

Descent of the Soul

45

Mithraic

Monuments

..

The Twelve Tortures

or Tests

Mithraic Talismans

The Roman Mithras

55

56
in his Chapel

63

64

Serapis

Monuments

47

of the Serapis- worship

70

Gnosticism, Alexandrian and Syrian

72

Agathodsemon Talismans

73

Abraxas-gems, properly so called

77

The god Abraxas, how

81

figured according to the Fathers

The name Iao

The Schema of the Ophites

87

Abraxaster, or later adapted Egyptian

89

82

The Seven Vowels

93

Legends and Formulae

94

Legends, interpretation of

102

ABRACADABRA

104

Other Types adopted by the Gnostics

105

CONTENTS.

XVI

PAGE

Zodiacal Decani, or Abraxoids

Isiac

106

Symbols

109

Materials and style

112

Tbe Evil Eye

113

Talismans and Amulets

115

Localities

where found at present

Recognition

by means

119

120

of symbols

Sepulcrum Marise Honorii

123

Gnostic Talismans placed in Sarcophagi

126

Formulas from the Diagramma of the Ophites

127

Mediaeval Talismans

129

Gems

135

of the orthodox Christians

Heads of Christ

144

Leaden Book of the

Museum Kircherianum

Card. Bouillons Leaden

147

Book

151

The Gnostic Phcenix

152

The Yase of Sins

Death, how represented
The

Ineffable

Name

153
in Ancient

Art

of the Hindoos.

155

The Gayatris

Hindoo principle of Dualism

Yamas

titles

and

165
166

attributes

The Hindoo Triad

its

163

Three Persons

166

Penances, the merit of

168

Tauxobolia, or Baptism of Blood

1^59

Incantations to raise the dead

169

known to the Romans

symbols by the Freemasons

The Magi and Brahmins

Preservation of Gnostic

as

Charges brought against the Templars

192

Six Articles alleged against the Italian Templars

Eleven Articles given in the Chronique de

The

E Delphicum

St.

Denys

195

196
198

Description of the Plates

Description of the

172

173

Woodcuts

200
232

Addenda

239

Index

245

ERRATA.
In the votive inscription of Alexamenos

My
me

(p. 90) dele

TON.

was taken from a verbal account given

notice in the text

to

by a person who had inspected the drawing on its

discovery hence its deficiency in exactness. But having

at the time

first

am now

lately procured the fac-simile, I

The

details.

deity

Anubis-Christos

is,

he

as I

was

able to complete the

certain from the

is not crucified,

first,

the Gnostic

but stands freely on a cippus,

and supports, in his outstretched hands, his ancient symbol, the

Tail, over

which are remains of the sacred

adapted by the Christians to their

on No.

hand

He

6.

The votary

X-0Y, afterwards
Compare legend

ideas.

stands at the side of the deity with his

lifted to his lips, in the usual attitude of worship, adorando.

wears the tunic of the vulgar

The drawing

lus.

in a

own

narrow

is

one of the tunicatus popel-

scratched upon the plaster of a house-front

street filled

up and

built over with a part of the

Palatium some time under the Lower Empire.

placed there

to protect the

inmate, in the same

It

was evidently

way

very deity on the leaden scrolls in the Massini tombs

Page 119, note -for Sebert read

chester Cathedral, a.d. 1159.
seal is evidently a

as

was

this

(p. 149).

Seffrid buried in Chi-

Servatius died a.d. 389, but his

work of the tenth or eleventh century, and

therefore a valuable example

of a mediaeval intaglio.

It is

suspended from a small slab of porphyry traditionally known as

the saints portable

altar.

The

cuts are

impressions kindly communicated to

whom

have

also to

made from gutta percha

Albert Way,

me by Mr.

thank for the cast of the Gnostic Gorgon.

THE GNOSTICS AND THEIR REMAINS,

ANCIENT AND MEDIEVAL.

GNOSTICISM DEFINED.
The general name Gnostics
that sprang

up

used to designate several sects

is

in the Eastern parts of the

Roman empire

simultaneously with the establishment of Christianity

to say, these sects then, for the first time,

form, and ranged themselves under different teachers,

names they became known

their chief doctrines

came

had been held

direct

into existence as

The

it is

many

probable, they

first

Mystm, upon the establishment of a

under the Seleucidae and the

and Megabyzse

colleges of Essenes

the Orphics of Thrace,

by whose

for centuries before in

There,

intercourse with India

Ptolemies.

definite

the world, although in reality

to

of the cities in Asia Minor.

assumed a

almost
that is

at Ephesus,

the Curetes of Crete are all merely

branches of one antique and

common

religion,

and that originally

Asiatic.

The word Gnosticism

is

derived from the Greek,

Gnosis

knowledge, a term used from the very dawn of philosophy to

designate the science of things divine

thus Diogenes Laertius

records that Pythagoras termed the transcendental portion of

his doctrines

name given

Tvgjgiq

to

tuiv ovtiov.

what Porphyry

And
calls

later, Gnosis was the

the Antique or Oriental

GNOSTICISM DEFINED.

philosophy,

distinguish

to

from

it

Matter thinks the term was

first

superior or celestial knowledge,

Grecian

the

used, in

its

systems.

technical sense of

by the Jewish philosophers

belonging to their famous school at Alexandria.

These, follow-

ing the example of a noted Eabbin, Aristobulus,

Peripatician, endeavoured to prove that all the

sumamed

wisdom

the

of the

Greeks was immediately derived from the Hebrew Scriptures,

and by their allegorical mode of interpretation, which enabled

them

to elicit

any sense desired from any passage, they sought

Thus they proved that Plato during

Egypt had been their scholar and yet further to
support his pretensions, Aristobulus forged abundance of poems
under the names of Orpheus, Homer, Linus, and Hesiod,
strongly impregnated with the principles of Judaism.
But his
Judaism was a very different thing from the materialistic
it was the elaborate, transcensimplicity of the Pentateuch
to establish their theory.

his sojourn in

dental system of the Kabala and the Talmud, a creed formed

during the Persian domination, and

little

more than a

slightly

modified adoption of the Zendavesta.

Ephesus, again, was one of the most important meeting-points

of Grecian civilization and Oriental doctrines.

commerce and
least it

riches,

was the

though

fell

it

rival of Corinth,

city in its treasures of religion

and

and

With regard

to

short of Alexandria, yet at

far surpassed

science.

the latter

Its copiousness in

theosophic ideas and rites had long been manifested in

its

famous

Diana, that pantheistic figure so conformable to the genius of

the farthest East

in the existence of the college of Essenes,

dedicated to her service, and of the Megabyzae, whose Persian

by their name. Such also was the source of

the magic formulae known everywhere by the term of Ephesian
and how zealously magic was cultivated
writings or spells
origin

is

declared

Lukes incidental mention of the value 1 of

the books burnt by those who used curious arts
ra 7repupya

there appears from

St.

(the technical

name

for sorcery

verted by the preaching of

when

the

first

St.

and divination), when con-

Paul.

Such converts, indeed,

heat of their zeal had cooled down, were most

50,000 drachmse.

GNOSTICISM DEFINED.

unlikely to resist the temptation of endeavouring to reconcile

their ancient far-famed
short,

wisdom with the new revelation or, in

as already had been invented
;

same system

to follow the

by the Alexandrian Jews, in

with

their reconcilement of Plato

In Ephesus, says Matter, the notions of the Jewish-

Moses.

Egyptian

and

school,

semi-Persian speculations of

the

come

Kabalists had then recently

and Asiatic doctrines, so there

Grecian

teachers should have sprung

religion

the

to swell the vast conflux of

up there who

no wonder that

is

strove to combine the

newly preached by the apostle with the ideas there

As

long established.

First Epistle to Timothy, conjures

him

to

warn

certain persons to

abstain from teaching strange doctrine, those

myths and

minable genealogies that only bred division.

These

and genealogies

inter-

myths

apply without any doubt to the theory of the

emanation of the Eons-Sephiroth, and to

respecting the

so

early as the year a.d. 58, St. Paul, in his

all

the traditions

good and bad angels that the Kabalists had

adopted from the religion of Zoroaster.

Again, after condemning

certain

doctrines concerning the

necessity of a perfect asceticism, adopted literally from

Essenes, the Apostle adds

Keep

safe

the

the precious charge

intrusted to thee, avoiding profane novelties and the antitheses

of the

knowledge (Gnosis)

profession

have gone astray from the faith of Christ.

certainly not the

to enrich

falsely so called, of which some making

and complete the Christian doctrine

such as we

have samples of in the childish, though pious

apocryphal gospels
ledge that set
tion

itself,

It

was

mere fables by which the new converts sought

itself

such were assuredly not the

up

false

know-

against the true knowledge, or revela-

as something superior to this revelation

a doctrine professing to

still

fictions of the

make

and that a science founding

a science

its

but

it

was

out of the Christian faith,

principles

upon

antitheses.

What

are these antitheses (literally, oppositions) but the principles of

the Zendavesta and Kabala, concerning the two empires of Light

and of Darkness, the two great classes of intelligences, the

good and the evil spirits, and the perpetual contest going on
1

That

is,

styling themselves yvcaariKoi.

b 2

GNOSTICISM DEFINED.

Now

between them?
dualism,

it

Gnosticism

is

that

these antitheses,

forms

the

most

or the principle

conspicuous

of

of

feature

and in the Apostles words, we trace one of the most

obvious ways in which such doctrines were communicated, and

how they

insinuated themselves into the infant Church.

The ancient commentators, Theodor et and Chrysostom, who

were thoroughly conversant with the Gnosticism of their own
times, apply these warnings of St. Paul to the actual precursor

of Gnosticism

his

Simon Magus himself

indefatigable rival,

whose singular tenets had by that time been widely diffused

throughout Asia Minor.
So deeply rooted were such speculations in the minds of

many

Ephesians that the Apostle, in his Second Epistle to Timothy,

written six years later, returns perpetually to the subject, whilst
in his Epistle to the Ephesian Church, he entreats the flock not to

be seduced by vain discourses (the myths above named ), nor by

1

human

doctrines, having

no more

solidity in themselves

wind, of which no one knoweth whence

He

goeth.
says,

it

than the

cometh or whither

it

even uses the very terms of Gnosticism, as when he

Ye were dead

in error

and in

sins

ye walked according to

the iEon of this world, according to the archon 2 that has the

domination of the

Here we have the Devs and Klippoths

air.

of Zoroaster and the Kabala, whose hosts

fill

the

air,

deceive

mankind, blind their understandings, and lead them into temptation.

Again, where he adds,

We

wrestle not against flesh and

blood, but against the dominations, the powers, the lords of darkness, the mischievousness of spirits in the

upper regions

all

these are terms of Gnosticism and originated in the notions of

the Kabalistic theology.

The
it,

later

Gnosticism

is

in fact, as Chiflet has well expressed

the spirit of Asiatic antiquity endeavouring to usurp the em-

pire over the

Church. In
planted,

by

human

its

soul

by insinuating itself into the Christian

it had already to a great extent sup-

primitive form

spiritualising, the beautiful materialism of the early

1
sion yet more applicable to the actual
One reading would make the term
new-coined appellations an expresGnostic nomenclature.
2
The Demiurgus, Ildabaoth.
I

GNOSTICISM DEFINED.
The

Greek and Italian mythology.

simplicity, of Catholicism, in the

unity, aided

by

greater

its

end triumphed over the con-

Gnostic creeds, which, as a professed religion, became

flicting

extinct in the sixth century as far as

whose

relics in

Europe

is

impenetrable veil by the sudden

its

not to be eradicated without leaving behind

it

to be recognized in the writings

and seekers

Mahometanism.

deluge of

Nevertheless, even in the former regions of

astrologers,

concerned, and

Asia were at the same time covered over with an

dominion

it

was

deep traces easy

and symbols of the magicians,

after the Philosophers Stone

in

the

Middle Ages.

The

who have

Christian writers,

treated

upon the origin and

nature of these doctrines, were (Origen excepted) ignorant ecclesiastics,

who

could discern nothing in any religion beyond

outside forms,

which they construed ih the worst possible

its

sense,

ever seeking for the most unfavourable interpretation of which

such outward appearances were susceptible.

Epiphanius, the

author of the most detailed account of the Gnostics extant, the

Panarion, was of Jewish extraction, and perpetually exhibits
1

in his explanations that incapacity for logical reasoning

markedly distinguishes every writer belonging

so

One

rule always observed

represent

it

as a

mere

by the

offshoot

which

to his nation.

historians of Gnosticism is to

and corruption of Christianity,

by apostates from
by the apostles
than which nothing can be more false. For its

invented, usually out of disappointed ambition,

the religion as established in various churches

a representation
earliest forms,

such as manifested in the doctrines of Basilides,

merely added upon a most ancient foundation such portions of

the

new

doctrine as were capable of being assimilated

bined therewith

new
Magus and

and such were

sought to explain the mysteries of the

faith

probably the systems of Simon

Cerinthus.

indeed, to judge from the account left

by

his

Written shortly before the year

It is a huge folio, and of the
highest interest as a picture of the
1

400.

human mind

to de-

Basilides

contemporary,

Clemens, appears never to have been a Christian at

struggles of the

and com-

whilst by the machinery of the old they

all,

but to

vise a religion that shall satisfactorily

solve all the problems concerning mans

other nature.
2

Tertullian calls

him a

PlatoUist.

GNOSTICISM DEFINED.

have superadded upon the esoteric doctrines of the Egyptian

priesthood the more recent notions of Buddhism, the true source

many

of

The introduction

of the primary Gnostic ideas.

Buddhism

into

Egypt and Palestine

of

affords the only true solution

of innumerable difficulties in the history of religion; and the

facts

connected with

But

it shall

be discussed in another chapter.

to return to the popular account of the rise

features of the Gnostic heresy.

Simon Magus and

and grand

his disciple

Cerinthus are represented by the Fathers as its actual founders.

Menander was Simons successor; Basilides in Alexandria;
who, dying a.d. 133, was succeeded by Valentinus, a man of

Jewish parentage, but born and educated in that

Irenaeus styles the chief of the

city,

and

whom

Gnostics, on account of the

importance and the wide diffusion of his doctrines in the following

In Syria

century.

'other

sects

were

founded

contem-

poraneously with these, taking their name from Marcion and

Bardesanes,
Persians

by

whom

both of

universal tradition represents as

and therefore Magians in

origin,

religion.

It is

needless to mention the numerous other founders of sects less

important, until

we come

to the uprising of

Manes, author of the

most daring and most permanent theosophy of

fought, twice over, so long

cism.

This

portance of

sect,

its

and their

name

and which

with Catholi-

consequences, shall

considered more fully in another chapter;

Ophites, whose

all,

battle

origin and tenets, from the great im-

nature

their

and obstinate a

figures so largely in

be

as shall also the

the church-history

of the third century.

What

has been mentioned above as to the countries producing

the founders of

us to expect

all

these doctrines, either

one common

and such proves actually the case.

held in

common by

visible creation

all

Egypt

or Persia, leads

principle to pervade the systems of

The fundamental

all,

doctrine

the chiefs of the Gnosis was, that the

was not the work of the Supreme Deity, but of

the Demiurgus, a simple emanation, and several degrees removed

from the Godhead. To the latter, indeed, styled by them the

Unknown Father,

they attributed the creation of the intellectual

world, the Intelligences iEons and Angels

whilst to the Demi-

urgus they referred merely the creation of the world of matter,

GNOSTICISM DEFINED.
subject to imperfection from

its

But in order

very nature.

to understand the true principles of tbeir doctrines,

it is

fully

abso-

lutely necessary to possess tbe main features of tbe two religions

whence they drew the materials for constructing these systems
viz., the Zendavesta, and its modification found in the Kabala,

and those of the reformed Brahminical

by the

religion, as taught

Buddhist missionaries.

Although

to express their ideas visibly

the consideration of which

is

upon

their

monuments,

the proper object of this treatise,

they borrowed the gods and symbols of the ancient Egyptian

mythology, most strikingly in the case of the Agathodsemon and

of the sun-god Jao

new

yet such symbols were employed in a

meaning had not actually been

consistent with the newly-revived Hindoo doctrine, from their

sense, if indeed their esoteric

very

first

acceptation.

THE ZENDAVESTA
The Supreme Being

is

called

Boundless Time (Zeruane

Akrene), because to him no beginning can be assigned

surrounded by his

human

intelligence,

own

and so

glory,

far

he

is

so

exalted above all

that he can only be the object of silent

The beginning of Creation was made by means of

The first emanation of the Eternal One was Light,
whence issued Ormuzd, the King of Light. Ormuzd is styled

veneration.

emanations.

the Eirst-born of Boundless Time, and his Ferouer, or pre-existing

soul, type, or

Idea in the Platonic language, had existed from

eternity within

Ormuzd

the primitive light.

By means

created the pure World, of which he

and the judge.

Next, he created, in his

own

is

of his

all

Word

the preserver

image, the six

Amshaspands, who stand about his throne, and are his agents
with the lower
offer

up

to him,

spirits

and

to

and with mankind, whose prayers they

whom

they serve for models of perfection.

Zendavesta, or the Living Word

are the revelations of Zoroaster,

who

preached the religion under Darius

Hystaspes. In its present form it was

by Ardesher, the founder of

the Sassanian dynasty, from oral tracollected

dition, when he re-established the

ancient Persian religion.

THE ZENDAVESTA.

These Amshaspands, of

up the

whom Ormuzd

seven, are of both sexes

we

Kabalists adopted them, as

own

is

the

first,

thus making

and the Gnostics and the

shall see further on, into their

systems, with such a distinction.

The next
number, of

series of emanations

whom

Mithras

is

were the Izeds, twenty-eight in

the chief.

Like the superior order,

they watch over the purity and the happiness of the world
of which they are the genii and guardians.

The

third series, the Ferouers, are in

number

are the thoughts or ideas conceived in Ormuzds

proceeded to the creation of things.

mankind during

their mortal

life,

They

They

infinite.

mind

before he

are the protectors of

and will purify their souls on

the day of the resurrection.

The

creation of these chiefs and angelic hosts had

become

Ahriman, the second born of the Eternal One, like

necessary.

Ormuzd, an emanation from the Primal Light, and equally pure,

but ambitious and

had become jealous of the firstSupreme Being condemned him to inhabit

twelve thousand years the space that is illumined by no ray

born.
for

full of pride,

Therefore, the

the black empire of darkness.

of light

to decide the struggle

and

evil.

of

evil

between

light

Ahriman, to oppose his

corresponding

spirits,

This interval will

rival,

created also three series

and

number,

in

suffice

and darkness, between good

antagonistic

in office to each one of the good, and like them, male and female.

The

that of the Arch-Devs, chained each to his

first series is

respective planet, and whose head

is

Ash-Mogh, the

These Devs are the authors of

serpent of lies.

two-footed

all

evil,

both

material and moral, throughout the universe.

Ormuzd,
image

Ormuzd was unable

Ormuzd had produced by

source of universal
,

first,

light

faint

creation of

for darkness being already inherent in these

elements,

Life

creating

Ahriman had concurred in the

lastly

earth and water

then water, earth, plants, beasts,

of the light-celestial,

Man.

and

thousand years, then created

after a reign of three

the material world in six periods

to exclude its nature.

his

life for all

or the Bull , the same

word a

creation

being, the type

this

word standing

for

This creature Ahriman contrived to destroy;

and

being was named

both in Zend.
but out of

its

THE ZENDAVESTA.

agency of the Amshaspand

by the

scattered seed Ormuzd,

Sapandomad, or Wisdom, formed the

first

human

pair

Meschia

This couple Ahriman, by a bribe of fruits and

and Meschiane.

having

milk, succeeded in corrupting;

Then,

female.

the good

to all

gained over the

first

animals

made by Ormuzd,

he opposed by his creation as many mischievous and venemous.

The

struggle

superior

still

goes on

the power of Darkness often

and will ultimately triumph.

good

genii,

seem

at their worst,

and

For,

Sosiosch, shall regenerate the

excellence

shall

world and restore

Then comes the

1
.

immediately

regenerated earth

when

things

evil all-powerful in the creation, three

One

prophets shall appear and restore the lost light.

good

the

is

but the pure souls are assisted and defended by the

it

when

general resurrection,

enter

into

and Ahriman,

of these,

to its pristine

happy abode

this

the

the

and his angels, and the

wicked, be purified by immersion in a lake of molten metal,

so as to

render them fitting members of the

Henceforward

all

will

enjoy

new kingdom.

unchangeable happiness, and

headed by Sosiosch, ever sing the praises of the Eternal One.

This religion of Zoroaster was a reformed version of the ancient
doctrines held

by the inhabitants

blished religion of the Persians

and, to a great extent,

it

of Eritene

it

was the

when they conquered

esta-

Assyria,

superseded the material idolatry of the

Babylonians, whose gods Darius and Xerxes accordingly melted

down without any

scruple.

Matter thinks that the College of

Magi, established long before the conquest at Babylon, accepted

the

new

religion

upon the change

of masters

retaining nothing

of the old but what related to astrology and divination.

this

is

more than

probable, for

we

Daniel

find

And

accepting

(though so abhorrent of image-worship), without scruple, his

appointment as chief Magus, and the Magi, as a matter of

course,

attending the iconoclastic Persian kings in

campaigns.

It

all

their

must be remembered how large a portion of the

Jewish nation remained in Assyria, only two

tribes,

Levi, being sent back to Jerusalem by Cyrus

and Babylon long

Hence the

things.

belief of the

Jews that Elias

shall first come,

Judah and

and

restore all

THE ZENDA VESTA,

10

continued the seat of a most flourishing Babbinical school

whilst Jerusalem

How

sian city.
at a

much

was a Per-

until Alexanders Conquest,

itself,

important a part of the Persian population,

were Jews, or connected with them,

mention by Josephus, that the

later period,

appears from the

incidental

people of the Jews were encouraged to face

in their final struggle against the Komans,

all

extremities

by the expecta-

tion of aid from their brethren beyond the Euphrates.

centuries later,

Ammian

upon a

city entirely inhabited

Hence

it

is

by Jews, in the

how much

easy to perceive

Three

army came

notes that Julians invading

centre of Persia

1
.

of the Zoroastrian

element pervaded the Jewish religion at the time of the promulgation of Christianity,

when

Pharisees, or Interpreters;

its

if,

principal teachers were the

indeed, these doctors did not

actuaHy take their appellation from the word, Pharsi or Persian.

These doctrines, as then taught, are

Traditions, so

set forth in the Kabala, or

caUed from Kabal to receive.

,

THE KABALA.
The

origin of the Kabala has been placed

than that of Christianity

its

doctrines

epoch

no

it,

and

The Book

received some developments after that

of Daniel bears the

The idea

of

much more remote

most evident traces

Emanation

element of the Kabala;

have seen, the essential

added other proofs

is,

it is

so to speak, the
likewise, as

character of Zoroastrism

of Babylon, was
accepted as authoritative by all the
Jews in Palestine; and the rabbi

we must

made by Onkelos,

Jews ap-

pear to have belonged to Central Asia

the schools of Nahaidea, of Sora, of
Pumbiditha, were at least as famous as
the contemporaneous schools in Palestine (Jos. Ant. xviii. 12). The latter
even appear to have paid a sort of
deference to the learning of the former

we

the Chaldee version of the Pentateuch,

After the Captivity, the principal

literary establishments of the

later

not impossible that

to the attestation of this record are

less convincing.

soul, the essential

by some authors

it is

but their elements go back to a

antiquity.

of

may have

and, indeed,

Hillel,

coming from that

capital to

Jerusalem, was received by the doctors

of the holy city as a member of the

same national school

birth of Christ.
j
|

shortly before the

therefore consider that

THE KABALA.

11

was through

their very intimate con-

it

nection with Persia that the Jews imbibed this idea.

According to the Kabala, as according to the Zoroastrian

system, all that exists has emanated from the source of the
Infinite Light.

Before

all things, existed

the Primal Being, the Ancient of

Days, the eternal King of Light.

This King of Light

existence
is

he

is

him no

in

is

he

the All

the infinite (Ensoph)

the real cause of all

is
;

he alone

Thou, but he cannot be known, he

He, there

is

a closed

is

eye.

The universe

is

the revelation of the King of Light, and only

His qualities are manifested in

subsists in him.

modified and in various degrees:

splendour, as

it

were

All

is

an emanation from

silence.
fore,

his mantle,

it

is,

variously
his holy

wherewith he must be clad in

this being

any approaches him the more perfect

so as it recedes.

it

therefore,

is it,

This idea* of gradation

is

the nearer, there

and becomes

eminently Persian.

Before the creation of the worlds, the Primal Light

that there

was no void

at all; but

when

less

filled all, so

the Supreme Being,

residing within this light, resolved to display and to manifest

his perfections in the worlds, he retired within himself and

formed around him a void space.

first

Into this void he let

emanation, a ray of light which

is

of all existence, uniting in itself the generative

force,

fall his

the cause and principle

and conceptive

being both father and mother in the sublimest sense,

pervading

all,

and without which nothing can

for

an instant

subsist.

From this double force, designated by the two first letters of

name Jehovah, emanated the first-born of God, the Tiklcun
the universal Form or Idea, and the general container of all
the

beings, united with the Infinite

by means

He
He

of the primal ray.

is

the creator, preserver, and prime animator of the world.

is

the light of light, possessing the three primitive forces of the

divinity

the light, the spirit, and the

Inasmuch

life.

has received what he gives, the light and the

life,

he

sidered as equally a generative and a conceptive principle

primitive

man (Adam Kadmon)

and as man

is

as
is

he

con-

as the

called the little

THE KABALA.

12

world, or Microcosm, this Being

styled the great

is justly

world, or Macrocosm.

In

this

Adam Kadmon,

principle of light and of

this

life,

Ormuzd and

the Kabbalists have united the attributes of

of

Kaiomorts, the same principles amongst the Persians.

Adam Kadmon

has manifested himself in ten emanations,

which are not indeed actual beings, but sources of life,

They

almighty power, types of the creation.

Wisdom, Prudence, Magnificence,

Prudence, Jehovah

to

Elohim

of the

all attributes

works, by which alone

To

ceive him.

it is

in his

to con-

these emanations the Kabalists gave other titles,

The Crown (Parmenides

also

in the Gnostic systems.

gave the name of

Supreme Being) takes the synonym of

is

human mind

possible for the

title

to Severity,

Empire, Adonai.

to

Supreme Being, displayed

which continually present themselves

wise,

El

to Magnificence,

and Glory, Zaboath

to Victory

These are

Beauty, Victory,

Severity,

To Wisdom they give the

Glory, Foundation, Empire.

Jeh

vessels of

are the Crown,

a genius in Sabeism.

Wisdom

is

called

She takes

and becomes the Gnostic Sophia.

Hrecpayog to the

Light: Our like-

Or,

Nous and Logos

also the

names of

Fear, Depth of Thought, Eden, according to the passions that

Prudence

actuate her.

the source of the

head

lions

Husband

is

the Eiver flowing out of Paradise,

of unction.

Severity, a red

green and yellow

Beautys

oil

of the

and black

fire

Beauty, the colours

women)

such favourites with the Jewish

(still

emblem

Magnificence has for symbol a

an illuminating mirror, and

is

Church; Victory

is

the right column, the Pillar Jachin

Jehovah Zabaoth,
Glory

is

its

its

title

symbol

the left column,

the Pillar Boaz, called, too, the Old Serpent, entitled also Cheru-

bim and Seraphim, and corresponds with

the later systems. These two pillars figure
symbols of
so, for

all

the secret societies of

modem

the genus Ophis in

largely amongst the
times,

and naturally

these illuminati have borrowed, without understanding

the phraseology of the Kabalists and the Valentinians.

tion

is

the tree of the knowledge of good and evil,

Solomon, the Messiah

all

subsisting between the

it,

FoundaNoah,

terms expressing the eternal alliance

Supreme Being and

all that

from him, and in virtue of which he brings back

emanates

into himself

THE KABALA.

13

the souls that have lost their original purity.

consuming

the wife, the Church

fire,

all

Empire

names

to

is

the

he found

employed in the Valentinian scheme.

The

relations of the Sephiroth, or iEons, to one another the

Kabalists represent

by a number of

intersecting in a

circles

mysterious manner ad infinitum or else by the figure of a man or

,

a tree, formed out of such circles.

This figure of the Man, Seir

Anpin, consists of 243 numbers, the numerical value of the

name Abram
The

letters in the

celestial hierarchy.

signifying the different orders in the

original idea

was apparently taken

from the Hindoo figure of Brahma and the various castes typified

by the several parts

of his

body

in fact, the

names Abram and

Brahma are equivalent in numerical value.

The ten Sephiroth served as types for the

creation from them

emanated the four worlds, Aziluth, Briah, Jezirah, and Asiah,
;

each world successively proceeding out of that above

lower one enveloping

its

superior.

it,

but each

theory this similar to

arrangement of the spheres, described in

Platos concerning the

his vision of Er. 1

These worlds become

the lowest of

all

purely material,

less

pure as they descend in the scale,

being the material world.

all subsists

penetrating through creation, which

all is

This universal All

God.

is

the Elements or Energies whence

world, Aziluth

But nothing

is

through God, the ray of his light

is

the

life

of

life,

therefore

divided into thirty-two gates ,

all

beings are formed.

The

inhabited by the Parzupheim, the purest emana-

is

tions of the Deity,

having nothing material in their composition.

Briah

by an

but

is

still

inhabited

inferior order, the servants to Aziluth,

immaterial beings.

Jezirah , of

whom

Yet lower are the inhabitants of

Cherubim and Seraphim, the Elohim

But Asiah is peopled by gross, material

are the

and Beneh Elohim.

existences of both sexes, the Klippoth, delighting in evil, whose

chief

is Belial.

These

war with the pure

at

last

beings are full of ambition and ever

spirits of the three superior spheres,

whose

empire they unceasingly endeavour to usurp.

He

compares them to a set of the hemispherical bowls used by jugglers,

one within the other.

fitting loosely

THE KABALA.

14

The
vast

three superior orders answer exactly to the Amshaspands,

and Ferouers of Zoroaster,

Izeds,

did not exist in the beginning

it

do the Klippoth in their

as

numbers and malicious nature

to his Devs.

was the

This discord

result of a revolution

whom

Seven Kings, from

in heaven, the Fall of the

light , 1

Creator extracted the principle of good and of

bestowed

it

the

and

on the inhabitants of the three superior worlds.

After the contest shall have endured the time determined from
the beginning, the Supreme Being shall deliver the spirits of

Asiah from their material envelope, shall fortify the feeble ray of

and

light that is within them,

shall establish throughout creation

harmony.

pristine

its

The human

composed of parts borrowed from each of

soul is

From Asiah

the four worlds.

gets the Nephesch, or seat of

it

the physical appetites; from Jezirah, the Buaeh, the seat of the
passions;

from Briah, Neshamah, or reason;

obtains Chaiah, the principle of spiritual life

All the

human

race having sinned in the

regards their souls,

within

him

of

all

from Aziluth

it

2
.

first

man, that

is,

as

which were necessarily contained

at the time of his fall, these souls are exiled hither into

prisons of matter, called bodies, in order to expiate that sin and

Such as on quitting the body

to practise themselves in good.

are not sufficiently purified for Aziluth, have to

new penance upon

earth

recommence a

3
.

TEE TALMUD.
The

is

respecting the nature of the

extremely important for the understanding of

The whole

Gnosticism.

from the Zendavesta

indeed, without

Talmud

doctrine of the

Angels

Similarly

the

system, in this particular,

is

and could not have originated

the

Ophite

Captivity:

doctrine

so

contrary

is

much

in

borrowed
before, or
it

to

the

respective faculties from the planets,

descends through them.

makes Achamoth extract from Ilda*

baoth and his six genii the inherent

as

ray of the Divine Light, in order to

whether the being born blind

was a punishment for the sins of the
individual, which, if so, must have
been committed in a previous life.

bestow
2

it

upon man.

The same

Platonic, of the

theory as the Neosouls obtaining its

it

Hence the question

ciples

of the dis-

THE TALMUD.
Mosaic Law.

materialistic genius of the

government of

all

things

15

is

According to

it,

intrusted to the angels, of

the

whom

there are seventy Princes watching over each element, nation,

and language.

him seven

Gabriel,

Seraphiel,

SMmshael, Eadarniel, and Sarmiel.

of Water, and

is

Prince

inferior spirits.

infinity of angels yet lower in degree

various

grace, favour, &c.

who

angel

by seven

is

animals,

plants,

the winds, hail,

Also over the several passions of the mind, as love,

rain, &c.
fear,

the

of

Temmael,

Nuriel,

Again, Michael

similarly attended

There are moreover, an

guardians

and has under

Thtis, Jehuel is the Prince of Fire,

subordinates

Hence

it

is

not astonishing that the

directs the Suns course, has 296 armies

under him, a

by the Hebrew numerals in the words

Earth). The chief of all is Metatron, the numerical
name being 314, and therefore equivalent to that of

number expressed
Haaretz (the

value of his

Shaddai

the Almighty.

warning

All this fully explains

Pauls

St.

to his converts against being seduced into a voluntary

or uncalled-for humility, and the worshipping of angels

whilst

the frequent occurrence of their names upon our amulets, proves

the veneration in which their power was held.

monuments proceed from two sources, the two

Magi mentioned by Pliny the most ancient,- the
Chaldean or Magian, founded by Zoroaster and Osthanes, and the
more recent by Moses and Jambres. Thus Juvenal, after bringFor

all

these

great schools of

ing

the

in

proud

and

pompous Chaldean,

the

maker

of

emperors

Cujus amicitia conducendaque tabella

civis obit et formidatus Othoni

Magnus

makes the poor trembling Jewish

whispers for the ladys private

fortune-teller steal in

ear,

with

whose province went no

further than the interpreting, or sending of dreams

Qualiacunque voles Judsei somnia vendunt.

This

is

the Persian Mithras

the

names of all the other angels are compounded with El, the Hebrew for
God, and contain titles or invocations
to

him.

2 Such nocturnal revelations were

obtained by sleeping with a sigil under
Thus Tael, a most
ones pillow.

ancient doctor of the children of Israel

in

the wilderness,

says

that

the

woman with her hair hangand a man approaching her

figure of a

ing loose,
making a sign of love, engraved on a
crystal or jacinth, if placed under ones
head on going to sleep, will make one
see in a dream whatever he desires.

THE TALMUD.

16

Hence, in the following pages, the subject of these monuments

is

considered under different heads, according to the special

The

religious notions that produced them.

series

with the Mithraic, as being the most ancient in

in which the Magian and Jewish, or

frequently are
stones,

To

united.

old Egyptian theology.

class

Chnuphis

succeed the Abraxas

in

To Egypt

itself

the Agatho daemon talismans, with

and

and

Kabalistic ideas most

which the Magian ideas are

of Basilides and a strong tincture of the

properly so called,

modified by the theories

this

commences

its origin,

a symbol which gave

its

more peculiarly belong

the figure of the serpent

name

to that

very numerous

Last of

clearly- defined sect, the Ophites.

all

come the

works connected with the worship of Serapis, the most recent,

under that name, of

all the

gods in the Egyptian Pantheon, and

which the Brahminical religion almost unaltered,

in

is

most

evidently to be traced.

INDIAN SOURCES OF GNOSTIC IDEAS.

The Persian

origin of so considerable a portion of the Gnostic

creed having now been set

of

it

may be

forth, it

remains to show

how much

ascribed to a purely Indian source, and the

in which so direct an intercourse

manner

was established between India

and the foci of Gnosticism, Alexandria, and Ephesus.

The
after

identity of

some of the Gnostic

tenets,

which will here-

be considered, as to the duality of the divine emanations,

asceticism, penances,

self-collection,

and absorption into the

godhead, with the Buddhistic views on the same points,

sufficiently obvious.

The

actual circumstances

is

of their intro-

duction from India are fully detailed (in a case having doubt
less many parallels), by Epiphanius, in his Life of Manes

(Haer. lxv.).

This famous hseresiarch, equally abhorred by

Christian and Zoroastrian orthodoxy,

named Cubricus
the

title of

was by birth a Persian,

but who, on commencing his mission, assumed

Manes, signifying, in the Babylonian tongue, The

Vessel

for the

men gave

to St.

same reason, we may suppose, that the school-

Paul the epithet Yas Electionis.

Cubricus had been the slave, and afterwards, the sole heir to a

INDIAN SOURCES OF GNOSTIC IDEAS.

wealthy widow who had herself inherited

had belonged

snrnamed in Assyrian, Budda.

to a certain Terbinthus,
last

that

all

17

This

had likewise been the servant of a wealthy Saracen, named

who had

Scythicns,

in some place on

studied the Greek language and literature

the

confines

schools of Palmyra), and

empty learning of

With

this

By

this world.

fro into India, this

of Palestine (perhaps in the

had there attained

to

eminence in the

constant journeys to and

Scythicus had amassed enormous wealth.

he settled down at Hypsele in the Thebais, where he

beautiful courtezan, whom he had emancipated.

M Here, out of sheer idleness and debauchery, he began to preach

married

new doctrines, not derived from Scripture, but from mere

human reason. There can be little doubt that these doctrines
were no inventions of his own, but what he had learnt in India.

mere Eastern

making

common Arab merchant, who,

trader, a

his fortune

by long and dangerous

down

could afterwards set himself

years,

nay more, even

was not the want

when advanced

to study,

to attain proficiency in

must have been a man of no ordinary

after

travels to the East,

in

Greek philosophy,

intellect.

Assuredly

it

of anything better to do, as the sour-tempered

Cretan bishop pretends, that made him set up for the founder
of a

new

religion.

Indian emporia

where Buddhism,
attest,

It

must

be

borne in mind that the great

at this period lay in the northern provinces,

as the

Topes and their enclosed

relics still

was the prevailing religion even when that region was

possessed

by the Sassanian kings

goras for his

Mysteries

guide, he

The Summary

Pythagoras was

universally

reason), to have visited India,

Taking Pytha-

of Persia.

composed

four

books, viz.

The

The Gospel

believed

(and with

and thence

to

The

Treasures.

very good

have obtained the

elements of his peculiar philosophy; certainly of a strongly After this, Scythicus made a
character.

marked Brahminical

journey to Jerusalem in the very times of the Apostles, and held

conferences with the elders of the Church there upon the Origin
of Evil,

and such

like points.

But not being

arguments and explanations, he took

Such

as Baroche

satisfied

by

their

to practising magic, the

and Pultanah.

INDIAN SOURCES OF GNOSTIC IDEAS.

18

knowledge of which, he had gotten, together with his other

wares, from the Indians and Egyptians.
But as he was showing
a miracle from the roof of his house, he

off

Upon

killed.

his

this,

and

slave

sole

fell

down and was

disciple,

Terbinthus,

instead of returning to his mistress at Hypsele, ran off with all

money

his

where he assumed, in order

into Persia,

name

to avoid

Budda which signifies the Sage. This

last fact proves incontestably what were the doctrines his late
master had been studying in India. Budda also, in Sanscrit, is
detection, the

of

the planet Mercury, equivalent to the Greek Hermes, the god of

Wisdom

assume.

a most appropriate title for the runaway slave to

This Terbinthus was himself a man of learning, and

conversant with his masters four treatises.

widows house, where

priests of Mithras, especially

concerning the

Two

He

lodged at a

he used to hold conferences with the

with two, Parcus

He,

Principles, &c.

accident like his master, his landlady

too,

1
,

and Labdacus,

being killed by

kept possession of

all his

them

property, religious treatises included, and in her turn left

to

her servant, Cubricus, the afterwards so celebrated Manes .

In the history of Scythicus the individual, we have in one

view the complete history of the origin and growth of GnostiWe find an Arab merchant, of a subtle and inquiring
cism.
genius,

occupying himself

during his frequent sojourns in

India, probably at Baroche, Pultanah, Barcellore, or the Bactrian

capital,

dominant

in

studying the

philosophy of the then pre-

and equally investigating

religionists, the Buddhists,

the mysteries of Egyptian lore during his occasional residence

at the head-quarters of the Indian trade,

retiring from

business,

Greek philosophy

as

he

goes

then taught in

been the later Platonism.

Alexandria.

Palmyra

to

its schools,

Thence

to

Then,

study the

which must have

returning to Egypt, he

occupies himself (not out of idleness, as the spiteful historian

asserts) in shaping into a consistent body, the various theories on
points too high for mans intellect,

Probably Pacorus.
The above is the substance of the

long and somewhat confused history

This Scydetailed by Epiphanius.

which he had derived from the

thicus was the forerunner of

Mahomet
many

a singular analogy in
circumstances of their lives.

there

is

INDIAN SOURCES OF GNOSTIC IDEAS.

three great fountain-heads of antique knowledge

Finally attracted

and Athens.

by the fame

19

India, Egypt,
new

of a

revelation,

that professed to cast the clearest light upon all Divine mysteries,

having been promulgated at Jerusalem, he immediately

for the focus of the

his possessions

new

own

Jerusalem,

at

all

only accompanied by one servant, himself an

educated man, and his

his arrival

sets off

behind him wife, and

light, leaving

On

treasured works on theology.

we

find

him,

naturally

enough,

altogether disappointed in his hopes of at last obtaining that

elucidation of such inscrutable points as the Origin of Evil, &c.,

on which his thoughts had so long dwelt

Christian Presbyters could

tell

for

on these secrets the

him no more than what he had

He

already learnt from the rabbim of Alexandria.

appears to have set up for a teacher himself

expected, had his career speedily cut short
accident
first

for

therefore

and, as might be

not however by an

Jerusalem was not a place, about the middle of the

century, where a

new

religion

could be preached with

impunity by a single individual, and he an Arab.

Hereupon,

his disciple, Terbinthus, resolves to visit another school of far-

famed wisdom, as yet untried by his master, and confers with

the

Magi

at the

head college of Babylon, seeking

for

tion of his difficulties in the teaching of Zoroaster.

an elucidaIt is

very

probable he engrafted upon his teachers system, whatever portions of the

Zenda vesta appeared most

with his preconceived ideas of truth.

know whether he moulded

all his

satisfactory
It

and consistent

would be curious

to

recent acquisitions into a con-

formity with the original Indian basis of his masters system

such might well have been his guiding principle, for

all

the

religious ideas prevailing in Asia have a latent connection,

and

all finally

From

converge to one source, and that centered in India.

his assuming the

such was

name

of Budda,

would appear that

it

his course.

Terbinthus,

too,

comes

to

an untimely end

the

Magi were not

heads of a powerful establishment to suffer themselves to be

puzzled and confuted by an over-wise foreigner, and to allow him
to depart exulting in his victory

as his successor

Manes found

to his cost.

Manes seems himself to have belonged (probably

after obtain -

c 2

INDIAN SOURCES OF GNOSTIC IDEAS.

20

ing his freedom and changing his name) to the order of Magi, for

he

is said to

have been famous for his

magic, and painting.

skill in astrology,

medicine,

Whether he conceived the scheme from

the accidental acquisition of the old treatises of Scythicus or not,

he at length gave

to these doctrines a definite form,

his system with such skill that

it

not merely through the East, but

to

under

disappear

the

and built up

spread with marvellous rapidity,

all

Europe, and after seeming

long-continued

persecution

the

of

Emperors, blazed forth again with extraordinary fury in the

The main

Middle Ages.

object of his

scheme was the recon-

cilement of the two religions that then possessed the two great

empires of the world, the flourishing, though

Christianity of the

Roman

unrecognised,

still

empire, and the equally vigorous and

newly-established Zoroastrian of the Sassanian monarchy.

Call-

ing himself the promised Paraclete, he accepted the Gospels after

purifying them from
rejected the

all

taint of Judaism, whilst

he utterly

But while in the Zendavesta

Old Testament.

begins in harmony and ends in a final reconcilement of the

all

Two

Manes makes these Principles immutable and existing

they shall continue to exist. His Good is, as
Zoroasters, the Lord of Light, but his Bad is Satan-Matter.
Principles,

from

all eternity as

Deliverance from the bondage of the last

strictest asceticism only.

rowed

From

is

to be obtained

by the

the Christian Church he bor-

organization of presbyters and deacons, sensible

its

greatly that organization had conduced to

and, in his

own

enterprise,

was speedily brought

its

with similar success.

to a close.

The Persian

But

summoned

unfortunate apostle

king, Varanes

against his

One

own

order,

as a heretic

I.,

new

by whom the

a general council of the Magi,

was condemned

his career

about the year 275, alarmed at the rapid spread of these

doctrines,

how

rapid development

and a

and by their sentence was flayed

traitor

alive.

of his theories is so singular in its character as to deserve

notice here.

When

the Son

came into the world

to effect the

salvation of mankind, he contrived a machine containing twelve

bowls

(cadi), which,

being made to revolve by the motion of the

1 This last is curious ; it shows that

the Magi, like the mediaeval monks,

monopolized the arts as well as the

sciences of their times.

INDIAN SOURCES OF GNOSTIC IDEAS.

21

spheres, attracts into itself the souls of the dying.

These the

great luminary (the sun), takes and purifies with his rays, and

then transfers them to the moon, and this

the disk, as

we

call

it,

of the

moon

is

the

replenished.

is

way

in

which

Epiphanius

how

evidently prides himself on refuting this theory by asking

the moons light was replenished during the nine hundred years
that elapsed after the creation, before

In the idea of this machine

any deaths took place ?

we may

trace the influence of the

Arabs study of Neo-Platonism at Palmyra, for

it

is

evidently

taken from the contrivance of the eight concentric hemispherical

bowls (cadi),

fitting

one inside the other, and put in motion by

the Fates, described by Plato in his vision of Er, the Pamphylian,

with which the Republic

Manes was
all things,

closes.

a genuine Pantheist, teaching that

God pervaded

even plants, and setting forth the entire scheme of

we have

Emanations, as

already

considered

it

in the

more

ancient theosophies.

THE BUDDHISTIC SYSTEM.

For the sake of comparison with the above-described doctrines
means of

of successive Emanations from the First Principle, the

escaping from the trammels of Matter, and the struggles of the

soul for ultimate absorption into

its

original source, I shall here

subjoin a very brief sketch of the distinguishing features of the

Buddhist theology.
state

Here we

repose,

of eternal

find a First

Buddha, in his proper

Nevritti (the indolentia of Epicurus)

corresponding with the Boundless Time and the Yalentinian

Bytlios.

In order

to create the universe

he produced the

'Five

divine Buddhas, the makers of the elements, and these again

producing the Five Boodhesativas, by their agency created the

material world.

The grand aim

of this religion is to effect the

release of the soul from its connection with Matter.

All things

exist only in illusion , therefore they can only return into non-

existence, or repose,

by means

of True

Knowledge

(or the Gnosis ).

Illusion is the belief in the reality of the eternal world.

degradation of the soul towards matter

is

The

the effect of a succes-

THE BUDDHISTIC SYSTEM.

22
sion of acts

hence

its release is effected

by relinquishing the

notion of the reality of external objects.

The Buddhists

of Nepal,

who

preserved the original

hav.e

doctrines of the sect in their greatest purity, teach the following

cosmogony:

Padnapani,

one of the original Five Emanations,

created Brahma, Yishnu, Siva, or the Principles of Creation,

Adi-Buddha

Preservation, Destruction.

first

created thirteen

mansions for his own eternal abode, and for the dweHing-place after

Below these are eighteen mansions

made by Brahma; lower yet are six made by Yishnu; and
lowest of all, three the work of Siva. These three series of
death of Buddhas followers.

abodes receive the souls of the followers of their respective

founders.

Below all these are the mansions of the Planetary Gods, Indra
and Chandra (Uranus and Deus Lunas) then comes the Earth,
floating upon the waters like a boat.
Below these waters are the
;

seven Patalas, or regions of Hell, the abodes of evil

spirits

and

the damned.

This arrangement presents a most striking similarity

to the

construction of the Ophite Diagram, as described

by Matter, in
The promulgation

figured

remote

his Hist. Crit.

du

Gnost.,

by Origen, and
PI. X.

of these Indian tenets from

a source so

an apparently insurmountable objectionmay be readily

The

explained.

Essenes, or Hessenes, Buddhist

particular (see the account of their religion and

life as detailed

monks in every
mode of ascetic

by Josephus, Ant. Jud., xv. 10), had been estaDead Sea for thousands of ages

blished on the shores of the

Ab

before Plinys times.

usque qua nocent, gens

occidente littora Esseni fugiunt

sola et in toto orbe prseter ceteras mira,

sine ulla femina, ornni

venere

abdicata,

sine

pecunia, socia

diem ex aequo convenarum turba renascitur large,

frequentantibus quos vita fessos ad mores eorum fortunae fluctibus

palmarum
agat.

in

Ita per seculorum millia , incredibile dictu gens aeterna est

A most extravagant exaggeration,

yet serving to establish the antiquity

of the sect.

It

may

indeed have been

merely a continuation of the associaknown as Sons of the Pro-

tions

phets.


THE BUDDHISTIC SYSTEM.
in

qua nemo nascitur, tam fcecunda

illis

23

aliorum

vitae poenitentia

est (v. 15).

That Buddhism had actually been planted in the dominions

of

the Seleucidae and Ptolemies (Palestine belonging to the former)

before the beginning of the third century b.

proved to

is

c.,

demonstration by a passage in the Edicts of Asoka,

grandson of

the famous Chandragupta, the Sandracottus of the Greeks. These

edicts are engraven

on a rock

the words of Prinsep, to

Iam now about to produce

To quote

at Girnur, in Guzerat.

whom

the discovery

due (Art.

is

xvii.),

evidence that Asokas acquaintance

with geography was not limited to Asia, and that his expansive
benevolence towards living creatures extended, at least in intenanother quarter of the globe

tion, to

we must

sought to apostolize Egypt, and that

traces of the introduction of

that his religious ambition

Buddhism

look hereafter for

into the fertile regions of

the Nile, so productive of metaphysical discussions from the

earliest ages.

bottom

The

line

which

I allude to is the fifth from the

And

2
the Greek king (Youa Baja) besides,

by whom the

Chupta (Egyptian) kings, Ptolemaios and Gongakenos 3 ( Antiochus) and Magas, have been induced to allow that both here and
in foreign

countries everywhere the

people

may

doctrine of the religion of Devananjpiga, wheresoever

The Buddhist

priest is

bound by

his

vows

follow the
it

reacheth.

to celibacy, absti-

nence from meat, and to the obtaining of his sustenance by

alms.

The word Essenes

also appears

as the title of the

annually-elected priests of the Ephesian Diana, who, during their

tenure of
the

name

(viii.

office,

were supposed

pure.

for

Pausanias

when speaking of
of Diana Hymnia, near Orchomenos, who was bound

to chastity for life,

13) mentions this Ephesian institution

the priest

This Asoka, at

and

first

to

keep himself pure in

a debauchee

had embraced the newlypreached doctrines of Buddhism, a

and

to observe perfect chastity

comes from the Arabic Hassan

tyrant,

species of Brahminical protestantism,

and established them through all

by persuasion and by

his dominions,

force,

with

all

things else

all the zeal of

new con-

vert.
2
The Persian envoy in Aristophanes (Acharn.) uses the same word
laovav for the Greek nation.
3

Gonatas.

THE BUDDHISTIC SYSTEM.

24

mode

ra a\\a ayvLUTeveiv ), observing a peculiar

(eg

forbidden to enter tbe baths, 1 or a private house

strictions

of

life

monkish

re-

one encounters in the Hellenic religion with astonish-

ment, but proving beyond mistake the identity of the Orcho-

menan worship with the Ephesian.

The influence of the Jewish Essenism,
upon primitive

least

puted by any

who have

perused the account of the former, given

by Josephus, and above alluded

was

as to rules of life at

Christianity, is a thing that cannot be dis-

to.

How much more

influential

their long-established authority with the semi-Christian

It is easy to discover thus the source of the

Gnostics of Syria.

slavish notions as to the merits of asceticism and penances, of

which Simon

grand example, even in their nature

Stylites is the

exactly those practised by the Hindoo Fakirs.

His penance, undergone upon the summit of a

long before been

known

Lucian, in his

in Syria.

pillar,

Dea

had

Syria,

notices the lofty phallus, or obelisk, in front of her temple, on

tbe point of which the devotee sat sleepless for twenty-one

days and nights, keeping himself awake by ringing a

ideas pervade the
stitute the

to see in

came

how many

Neither

is

it

Such
con-

difficult

points Manes, with his rigid Indian tenets,

into collision with the

for

bell.

Lower Empire and

very essence of the religion.

of Zoroaster,

had

Christianity of the

more humane and

and what good cause Yaranes and

rational teaching

his general council

condemning his heresy.

So long as philosophy was cultivated in Greece, India was

ever regarded as the ultimate and purest source of tine wisdom,
or the knowledge of things divine.

Lucian, the middle

his,

of'

Even

so late as the times of

the second century, the author concludes

evidently true, story of Antiphilus and

making the

latter,

to his friend

a Cynic by profession, leave

and go

off to

Demetrius, by
all his

property

India to live with the Brachmans

(Toxaris, 34).

In

all

religions

emanating from

the East, personal dirtiness has ever

been the recognized outward and
fully
visible sign of inward purity
:

exemplified

in fakirs,

dervises,

and

mediaeval saints.
The Greek fathers
inveigh against nothing so vehemently
as the ancient custom of regular
bathing.

THE BUDDHISTIC SYSTEM.

25

In the same century the famous pilgrimage of Apollonius

Tyaneus, and Bis deep conferences with Iarchus, as recorded
well known; and
memoranda has been filled
up by the fancy of Philostratus, the main facts of his expedition
His proceedings show how the
are undoubtedly authentic.
difficulty of such a journey vanishes upon a knowledge of the

by

companion Damis, are

his

although

much

sufficiently

of the latters scanty

Apollonius presents himself at the court of the

circumstances.

Parthian Bardanes, a Philhellene as he boasts yet upon his medals,

,

and

as

great an admirer of the Greek savants as any of his

Achsemenian predecessors, and obtains from him a firman which

secures safety and entertainment to the pilgrim as far as the Par-

thian limits, extending then, perhaps, beyond the Indus. Thencefor wards his letters of

recommendation from the king of kings

the various Indian princes, his allies, procure

favourable reception.

A safe

to

him an equally

and easy communication between

each extremity of the Persian empire had from the beginning

been the great care of

powerful rulers, the

its

of posting-stages, post-houses, and roads

populous and well-cultivated

country.

first

establishes

passing

through a

So favoured with

passport from the sovereign, travelling was both expeditious and

agreeable.

These

facilities

were likewise made use of by the natives of

curious to observe

Hindostan. It

is

who found

way

his

into Greece

how the

occasional

was there regarded

Brachman

as a

model

philosopher, like that Zarmanos Chegan, from Bargose (Baroche),

who burnt

himself alive upon a pyre at Athens, in the reign of

Augustus, of which spectacle, Nicolaus Damascenus was an eyewitness, (Strabo, xv.)

His example was followed in the next

century by the Peregrinus Proteus, ridiculed so happily by Lucian,

who

chose for the scene of his self-immolation, the occasion of the

Olympic games.

This

last

worthy had been a philosopher, then

a Christian, and finally the founder of a

new system

of his own.

The facts adduced in the foregoing sketch will suffice to indicate

the manner in which the germs of the several Gnostic doctrines
were imported from the East, how they were engrafted upon previously existing notions, and how vigorously they sprung up and
flourished in the congenial soil of Alexandria

and Ephesus.

To

OPHITES.

26

complete the general view of the subject, before proceeding to

1

consider the actual

monuments

us

left

by

these ideas,

it

will be

necessary to give an account of some form in which they assumed

and

their fullest development,

more suited than the

for this purpose nothing

so famous

name

can be

of the Ophites or Serpent

worshippers.

OPHITES.
This sect assumed a definite existence about the same time as
the Basilidans, or the middle of the second century, although the

elements of their doctrine are derived from a source infinitely

more

ancient.

They

are

particularly described

by

Irenseus,

writing at the end of that century, in Chapters 31, 32, 33, of his

Like all the other Gnostics, they rejected the Old

First Book.
Testament entirely as emanating from an inferior being, and containing nothing of the revelation of their Sophia or Divine Wisdom,

whilst the

New, though originally of higher authority, had been

by the interpolations of the Apostles, as to have
value as a revelation of divine truth. They deduced

so corrupted
lost all its

the strongest support for their tenets out of the various Testa-

ments, and similar books then current and ascribed to the Patri-

and the most ancient prophets, such as the Book of Enoch.

The primary article of their teaching was the Emanation of all
things from the One Supreme, long entirely unknown to mankind,
archs,

and

at last only revealed

unto a very small portion, worthy to

re-

Hence he is designated by the signior the Depth to express his unfathomable,

ceive such enlightenment.

ficant title of Bythos

inscrutable nature.

Following the Zoroastrians, and the Kabba-

Leaving out of the question the

the immigration into the furthest recesses of Europe
of the Indo-Germanic race; modern
history furnishes the example of the
same thing performed under infinitely
greater difficulties by the hordes of
low-caste Hindoos, who, flying from
the invasion of Tamerlane, diffused

now received theory as to

themselves throughout Europe and

became the Gypsies still retaining
their language and customs.
They
yet take to themselves Sind, or
Sindia, as the proper appellation of

the race;

and the name

of

their

ancient caste, the Coles, survives in

the tradition

of their

jovial sovereign.

antique and

OPHITES.

they also called him the Source of Light, and the Primi-

lists,

tive

27

Man.

The commencement of Creation,

or the First Idea of Emanation,

was the Thought Ennoia of Bythos, bearing

,

name,

Man

the Primitive

Man.

also the significant

This Idea being the

Sige, or Silence.
is

first

act of creation of

therefore properly designated the Second

Ennoia as the

consort (the Hindoo Durga) of Bythos,

produced Pneuma, or the Spirit ; which being the source of

ulterior beings is styled the

Mother of

all

living things, and

all

the

Wisdom from on high, or, Sophia. As Mother of all living

mean between the intellectual and the material world.
In consequence of this, when Bythos and Ennoia,

things, Sophia is the

charmed with her beauty, fecundated her with the divine

Sophia produced two

new Emanations, one perfect,

other imperfect, Sophia-Achamoth

Of

these, Christos

ceed from

God

out of Matter

and

to lead

Supreme,

was designed

for the guide of all that pro-

yet the perfect being was intended to succour

Spirit,

of all

who

the

Sophia-Achamoth, for the guide of all proceeding

Pneuma,

rests

sister.

upon Chaos, or the elements of

Creation, viz., Matter, Water, Darkness, the Abyss.

was devoid

2
.

upwards his imperfect

Again the

Christos

light,

life,

This Chaos

from the

for that proceeds ultimately

has no connexion whatever with Matter.

Neither

could his purely intellectual daughter Sophia act directly upon

it

she therefore employed, for her agent, her

own Emanation

Sophia-Achamoth, whose mixed, imperfect nature

fitted

her for

that purpose.

In the meanwhile the First Tetrad or Quaternion

Bythos,

Ennoia, Sophia, and Christos, were creating Ecclesia, or the

Idea of the Holy Church.

But the imperfect Sophia-Achamoth

lost her way, and became ambi-

on descending into Chaos, there

tious to create a world entirely for herself.

in the abyss, delighting in imparting

life

1
Because man was created in the
image of God, that is, after His like-

first

ness.

Achamoth,

This

scheme

is

evidently the

She

floated about

and motion

Buddhistic

to the inert

Bythos, answering to the

Sige, Sophia, Christos,

Buddha

Ildabaoth,

cessive five others.

to

the

suc-

OPHITES.

28

elements, until she became so hopelessly entangled in Matter as

to be unable to extricate herself

from

In this

trammels.

its

condition she produced the creator of the material world, or the

Demiurgus, Ildabaoth.
After this

Sophia-Achamoth, feeling

the

then of her material part, after long

at length

struggled forth

out

of

intolerable

and

repeated

had

She

Chaos.

bur-

efforts,

never

belonged to the Pleroma, but she attained to the Middle Space,

where she entirely shook

off

her material part

and determined

and the

to erect a barrier

between the world

world of Matter.

Ildabaoth, or the Son of Darkness, creator

of Intelligences

and tyrant of the lower world, follows the example of Bythos in

He

producing subordinate Emanations.

Angel in his own image

the

number

of Six.

this

These are

all

generates an

first of all

Angel a second

and so on up to

reflexions one of the other,

but they inhabit with their father Ildabaoth Seven different

regions

to

which the Middle Space, the domain of their

Achamoth, forms the Eighth.

Their names were

Adonai, Eloi, Ouraios, Astaphaios.

These became the genii of the

seven worlds, or planetary spheres.

mystic

titles

of the

God

origin

Iao, Sabaoth,

of the Jews,

The

first

four are the

thus degraded by the

Ophites into the appellations of the subordinates of the Creator

the two last signify the Genii of Fire, and of Water.

Besides these Spirits of an elevated rank, Ildabaoth created

others, Archangels, Angels, Virtues, Powers, presiding

numerous
over

all

the details of creation.

Ildabaoth was far from being a pure spirit

pride dominated

in

his

composition.

He

break

off all

to

create

a world entirely for himself.

Six Spirits he created Man, intending

power

ambition and

connexion with his Mother Achamoth, and

to

his

therefore resolved

Aided by his own

him

for

but he failed utterly in his work, his

the image of

Man

a vast, soulless, monster crawling upon the ground.

Spirits

were obliged

animated
light he

vation

Man

to

proving

The Six

bring their failure before Ildabaoth to be

he did so by communicating to him the ray of divine

had himself inherited from Achamoth, who by

now punished him

this depri-

for his pride and self-sufficiency.

thus favoured by Achamoth, at the expense of her

own

OPHITES.

29

son, followed the impulse of the divine light she

more out of the

ferred to him, collected

had thus

creation,

trans-

and began

to

present not the image of his creator Ildabaoth, but rather that of
the

Supreme Being, the Primitive Man. At this spectacle the

filled with rage and envy at having produced a

Demiurgus was

being so superior to himself. His looks, imprinted with his

were reflected in the abyss as in a mirror, and the

passions,

image became animated and forth arose Satan Serpent-formed

and

craft,

Out of
the

is

of a spiritual intelligence.

Judaism the Ophites gave

this

demon

of Michael, the guardian angel of the Jewish nation

according to Daniel
of Samael, the

They

(v. 21).

Hebrew name

work

him by the

also called

title

for the prince of the Devils.

at the perfection of Man, Ildabaoth

In consequence of his spite

set to

is

most base in Matter, with the hate, envy,

their hatred for

name

He

the embodiment of envy and of cunning.

Ophiomorphos

the union of all that

to create the three

Vegetable, and Mineral, with

kingdoms

all

of Nature, the

Animal,

the defects and evils they

now

present.

Next, in order to regain possession of the best of things

created,

he resolved to confine man within his own exclusive

domain.

In order

and from the

to

detach him from his protectress Achamoth,

he forbade him

celestial region,

of Knowledge,

which could reveal

confer the graces from above.

his schemes, sent her

pent
the

to induce

Law

him

own

to

to eat of the

him the

Tree

mysteries, and

But Achamoth, in order

to defeat

genius Ophis, in the form of the Ser-

to transgress the

command, and thus

to

break

of J ealousy.

Enlightened by eating the

fruit,

prehending heavenly mysteries.

Man became

capable of com-

Nevertheless, Ildabaoth was

strong enough to revenge himself ; which he did

by imprisoning

the First Pair in the dungeon of Matter, in the body so unworthy

of his nature, wherein

Man

ever continued to protect

nature,

and absorbed into

is still

him

Achamoth how-

enthralled.

she had extracted from his

herself, his particle of

Light and ceases

not to supply him therewith, and defend him in

1
Though not so stated, it would
seem this form was assumed by
Achamoths agent to deceive the

all his trials.

vigilance of Ildabaoth,
like his

phos.

own

by appearing
Ophiomor-

offspring, the

30

OPHITES.

And

was

of this there

the field

A new enemy has

full need.

the genius Ophis,

whom

come

into

Ildabaoth had seized and

punished for his share in the business of the Tree of Knowledge,

by
by

casting

him down

into the abyss,

becomes there contaminated

his immersion into matter, and is converted into an exact

image of his fellow-prisoner, Satan, Ophiomorphos.

the type

Ophis, the antitype

The latter

is

and the two were often confounded.

Thus we have another dualism in this scheme Sophia and SophiaAchamoth, Adam-Kadmon, and Adam Ophiomorphos and Ophis.
;

now began to hate him as the

cause (though innocent) of his own degradation. With Ildabaoth and his Spirits, he continually seeks to chain him to
Ophis, at

Mans

first

friend,

the body, by inspiring all corrupt desires, and more especially

earthly love, and the appetites.

kind with the divine

that

of their nakedness

But Achamoth supplied man-

through which they become sensible

light,

is,

the misery of their condition, im-

prisoned in this body of death, where their sole consolation

is

the hope of ultimate release.

The

seductions of Ildabaoth and his crew gained over the

offspring of

Adam, except

Seth, the true type of the Spiritual

Man, and whose descendants kept alive the seed

the knowledge
generations.

Divine

of

When

mandments and

Wisdom throughout

of Light
all

in the Wilderness they received the

institutions of Ildabaoth,

and

following

com-

and afterwards the

teaching of the prophets, inspired by his sons the planetary

Achamoth infused into their predictions something higher,

not even comprehended by their Master, and made them preach
the advent of the Primitive Man, the Eternal AEon, the Heavenly
This same notion was a favourite one with the Cathari
Christ.
genii,

of the Middle Ages.

Achamoth was
rested until she

so afflicted at the state of

celestial Sophia, to

move Bythos

into sending

the aid of the Spiritual race of Seth.

been induced to prepare the

agent,

John the

Man

that she never

had prevailed upon her mother and

way

down

type, the

Christos to

Ildabaoth himself had

for his

coming by

Baptist, in the belief that the

his

own

kingdom Christos

came to establish was merely temporal a supposition fostered in

him by the devices of Achamoth. Besides inducing him to send
:

OPHITES.

31

made him cause the

the Precursor, she

from the Virgin Mary

birth of the

Man

Jesus

for the creation of a material personage

could only be the work of the Demiurgus, not falling within the

As soon

province of a higher power.

uniting himself with

as

J esus was bom,

through

Sophia, descended

Christos,

seven

the

planetary regions, assuming in each an analogous form

and

concealing his true nature from their genii, whilst he attracted

into himself the sparks of divine light they retained in their

Thus Christos entered

essence.

moment

Jesus began to work miracles

pletely ignorant of his mission.

that he

Man Jesus at the

From that time forth

the

into

of his baptism in the Jordan.

was subverting

his

before that he had been comBut Ildabaoth, now discovering

own kingdom upon

earth, stirred

on the

cross, Christos

own

their

and Sophia

Upon

sphere.

of

and

spirit,

nise

him

to the earth,

and gave him another,

Thenceforward he consisted of merely soul

cether.

which was the cause that the

after the resurrection.

eighteen

of

body and returned to

two took the Man Jesus,

his death, the

abandoned his material body

made up

left his

up

When

the Jews against him, and caused him to be put to death.

months

after

he

disciples did not recog-

During his sojourn upon earth

had

risen,

he received from

Sophia that perfect knowledge, that true Gnosis, which he

communicated

to the small

portion of the apostles

capable of receiving the same.

Middle Space he

sat

down on

all

have been purified by the knowledge of

come

which

is

The

is

When he

has

out of Ildabaoths

accomplished, and the end of the world

nothing more than the reabsorption of

into the Pleroma,

Ophis

the souls which shall

Christ.

Spiritual, all the Light,

empire, redemption

into the

the right hand of Ildabaoth, but

unperceived by him, and there collects

collected all the

who were

Thence ascending up

whence

it

all

Light

originally descended.

was divided in their opinions as to the nature of

Though agreed that this genius was originally the agent

sect
2

In the Ophite Diagram (Origen

vi. 25) Michael is figured
as a lion, Suriel as a bull, Raphael as
a serpent, Gabriel as an eagle, Thau1

in Celsum,

tabaoth as a bear, Erataoth as a dog,

Ouriel as an ass.

The

worshipped

Ophites

serpent as the author of all

ledge, touching

the

know-

which they held the

That the su-

following doctrine

preme Aeon, having produced other

Aeons, one of them, a female, Prun-

OPHITES.

32

of Achamoth, the Ophites in Theodorets times held that he

had

been converted into the enemy of Man, although by inducing

commands

him

to disobey the

final

cause of his deliverance

sectarians, retaining the

of Ildabaoth he

had proved the

from that bondage.

But the older

Egyptian veneration for the Agatho-

deemon, the Chnuphis Serpent, regarded Ophis as identical with

Achamoth, or with Christos.

Thus they employed a

even when Epiphanius wrote,

to encircle

live serpent,

and consecrate the

loaves to be eaten in their Eucharistic Supper.

Again, Tertullian (De Prescript.) has Serpentem magnificant

in tantum ut ilium etiam Christo prseferant, a clear proof that
their Ophis continued to represent the antique solar genius of

the Egyptians

It

was a peculiarity of that nation

the present Hindoos, they were divided, as

that, like

were, into sects,

it

each of which adopted some particular deity out of the Pantheon

as the exclusive object of their worship

the rest.

paying no regard

to all

As, in Hindostan now, Yishnu and Siva have engrossed

the entire worship of the country, so in the

first

century, Isis,

Anubis, and Chneph had become the sole objects of Egyptian

adoration,

as

the

monuments

hereafter to be

reviewed will

abundantly evince.

To prove the

identity of their genius, Ophis, with the Saviour,

nicos (Concupiscence), descended into

infused into

the waters whence, not being able

to escape, she remained suspended in
mid-space, being too clogged by-

soul.

and not
falling lower where there was nothing
of affinity to her nature. Here she
produced her son Ildabaoth, the god
matter

to

of the Jews,

return

who

above,

in his turn produced

seven Aeons, or Angels, who created

the seven heavens. From these seven
angels Ildabaoth shut up all that was
above him, lest they should know of

anything superior to himself. They

then created man in the image of
their father, hut prone and crawling

on the earth like a worm. But the

Heavenly Mother, Prunnicos, wishing
to deprive Ildabaoth of the power she
had involuntarily endowed him with.

man

a celestial spark, the

Immediately man rose up upon his

soared in mind beyond the limits

feet,

and glorified the

Supreme Father, him that is above
Ildabaoth. Hence Ildabaoth, full of
jealousy, cast down his eyes upon the
lowest stratum of matter, and begot a
Virtue in the form of a serpent, whom
they call his son. Eve, obeying him
as the son of God, was readily perof the eight spheres

suaded to eat of the tree of knowledge.

is the summary of their views as
That of the
given by Epiphanius.
foregoing pages is taken from the more

Such

detailed description in Theodoret.

1

Tertullian

flourished

centuries before Epiphanius,

doret

was some

Epiphanius.

fifty

two
and Theo-

fully

years later than

ABRAXAS-GEMS.
they adduced
lifted

up

Man

he

the.

St.

Johns expression

33

(iii.

For

14),

as

Moses

Serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of

The

lifted up.

evil in its nature

section that regarded the Serpent as

had been led astray from the original doctrine

by the equally prevalent and antagonistic Zoroastrian and Jewish

ideas upon that point.
Before attempting to classify the actual remains of Gnosticism

which they owe

their origin, I

a general description of them

their nature,

under the respective religions

shall

now proceed to

and numbers

localities,

to

taking

for

my

guide the admirably-

arranged treatise of Bellermann, of which the two next chapters

are indeed little

more than a condensation.

ABRAXAS- GEMS.
The genuine Abraxas-gems that we still possess come out of
Egypt out of Asia some from Spain, where formerly many
Basilidans had planted themselves. Amongst this Christian;

philosophic sect, a branch of the Gnostics, the figure of Abraxas

was held

They used

in high esteem.

whom

to

they

directed

their

inquiries and mystic doctrines

it for

own

a teacher, in obedience

peculiar

transcendental

as a token or pass- word

amongst

the initiated, to show that they belonged to the same sect

amulet and talisman

and

as

an

documents.

lastly as a seal for their

Basilides, the founder of the sect, and, as far as can be ascer-

tained, the deviser of the figure of the

god Abraxas (a repre-

sentation which, examination proves, did not exist before his

times), flourished

the

first,

under Trajan and Hadrian, or

and early part of the second century.

at the

end of

He was by

birth

an Egyptian, living at Alexandria, and had embraced Christianity,

calling himself a

disciple

of the apostle

Matthew, and

boasted of having had for his master Glancias, a disciple of

St.

Peter himself.
Before his conversion he had followed the doctrines of the
Oriental Gnosis, and endeavoured, like

new
1

many

others amongst the

converts, to combine the tenets of the Christian religion

S. S.

Bellermanns Drei Programmer! iiber die Abraxas-gemmen. Berlin, 1820.

ABRAXAS-GEMS.

34

For

with the Gnostic philosophy, both spiritual and natural.

this

own

purpose he chose expressions of his

ingenious symbols.

concerning

God and

invention,

and

In the promulgation of his peculiar notions

Word

the Divine attributes, concerning his

and the creation, the emanation of

spirits

and of the worlds,

the architect of the earth, and the multifarious forces of nature,

he took the same road as his contemporary Satuminus in Syria.

His complete system was a combination of Christian, Jewish,
Pagan, and Egyptian notions; but in a more especial degree

embracing those of the Oriental Gnostics,

the Brahmins of the present day.
tenets, not
dria,

still

existing amongst

Basilides disseminated his

merely as a zealous teacher of his school in Alexan-

but he was likewise a prolific writer.

According to

Clemens Alexandrinus, he published tweuty-four volumes of

Interpretations upon the Gospels, 55 besides Odes and Spiritual

Songs;

all

of

which have perished.

sketched by Irenaus. his contemporary

His doctrines are thus

(i.

23)

Basilides, in order to invent something

more elaborate and

plausible in the Gnostic speculative philosophy, pushed his investigations even into the Infinite.

uncreated, eternal Father, had

this the Logos,

Phronesis

Word

first

He

this again Phronesis, Intelligence

sprung Sophia, Wisdom,

Irenseus understands

asserted that God, the

brought forth Kous, or Mind

by

and Dynamis

Quintemion

this that his

from

Strength.

signified five

Substances, Personal Intelligences, or Beings external to the

Godhead

but

it

would rather seem that they stood

sonified attributes of

the

Godhead;

forms

for the per-

of his workings

and internally. 1 Again he asserted, 44 ^Yhen the

uncreated, unnamed Father saw the corruption of mankind, he
externally

sent his first-born, Xous, into the world, in the form of Christ,
for the

redemption of

all

who

believe in him, out of the

power of

those that have fabricated the world (the Demiurgus, and his six
sons, the planetary genii).

Man

Jesus, and

He

According to ibis explanation, Bahad borrowed this idea from

it is, however, more
tile Kabalists
probable that he had gone to a much

men

as the

This Christ did not die in

it, and that we
and the QuinBuddha and the sac-

more remote source

for

find in the Uncreated

silkies

appeared amongst

wrought miracles.

temion, the First

cessave Five.

To face

Page

35.

;;

ABRAXAS-GEMS.
Simon the Cyrenian

person, but

he lent his bodily form

eternal Father, is not corporeal,

and cannot

fore maintains that Christ has died, is

Ignorance

whom

suffered in his stead, to

Divine Power, the Nous of the

for the

35

whoso denies the same, he

Whoso

die.

there-

the bondsman of

still

is free,

and hath under-

stood the purpose of the Father.

They use images

Irenseus adds of his followers,

and

incantations,

all

2
,

invocations,

other things pertaining unto Magic.

In these words there

appearance an allusion to the

is to all

figure that has given its popular

name

Bel-

to the entire class.

lermann considers the composite image, inscribed with the actual

name Abraxas,

to

be a Gnostic Pantheos

representing the

Supreme Being, with the Five Emanations marked out by appro-

From

priate symbols.

to

the

the

human

body, the usual form assigned

two supporters,

Deity, spring the

Nous and Logos,

expressed in the serpents, symbols of the inner senses, and the

on which account the Greeks had

quickening understanding;

made the serpent

cock

His head

the attribute of Pallas.

represents Phronesis, that bird being the

sight and of vigilance.

and Dynamis
This

agrees

Wisdom and

the whip of

wonderfully with

First Principle produces in

Magaswia,

of fore-

His two arms hold the symbols of Sophia

the shield of

system

where the
Powers

that of a

emblem

Sadasiva,

the

Power 3
.

Brahminical

succession the Five

Rudra, Vishnu,

and Brahma

held by some to be mere attributes of the godhead, by others

taken in the materialistic sense for iEther, Air, Fire, Water,

Earth.

The

entire Gnostic system

was not derived

either

from

the Kabala, or from the Grecian philosophy, but from the East,
as

Mosheim long ago maintained.

Another circumstance mentioned by Ireneeus, will be abun-

dantly illustrated in the progress of these researches.

1
Hence the Basilidans were called
by the orthodox, Docetx or IllusionSimilarly the pious Brahmins
ists.
explain all the legends in their my-

thology

that

are

inconsistent

with

divine dignity by saying they were

all

Maya

or Illusion.

Or

An

Further-

figures.

ingenious hypothesis

but

all

these animal constituents have a mystic significance in the Greek mythology,

and may each be referred

to

the sun-god, as will be discussed at

length further on.

D 2

ABRAXAS ITS TRUE ETYMOLOGY.

36

more, they Rave invented proper names for the angels, and

them under the

class

Besides

this,

first,

second, third heaven, and so on.

they strive to explain the names, origin, powers,

and iEons of their pretended 365 heavens.

Similarly they

own name to the terrestrial sphere, which they say

the Saviour (whom they call Kavlacav), has visited, and then
quitted.
Whoso understands this rightly, and knows the JEons
give

its

and their respective names, he

shall be invisible to ,

and beyond

the power 1 of the iEons, just as the Saviour, Kavlacav himself

As

was.
so

God remained unknown

the Son of

must the

of Basilides

disciple

to

the world,

remain unknown to

also

As they know all this, and yet must live

must they conduct themselves
towards the rest of the world as invisible and unknown. Hence
their motto
Learn to know all, but keep thyself unknown
the rest of mankind.

amongst strangers, therefore

and therefore they are accustomed

heretics, because

to

deny the

they assimilate themselves

secret constitution, however, is

to one in a thousand, or

known

Their doctrine

name

Their
perhaps

local situa-

like land-surveyors.

in a secret book, or in symbolic

Their Supreme Lord, the head of

Abraxas, which

The

two in ten thousand.

contained

is

to all sects.

but a few

to

tion of the 365 heavens they parcel* out

figures.

fact of their

Neither can they be detected as Christian

being Basilidans.

contains the

number

all things,

they

call

365.

ABRAXASITS TRUE ETYMOLOGY.

An

ingenious explanation of this mystic

posed by Bellermann

title

as signifying in Coptic,

Name, compounded of Ab or

Afi

Let

it

has been pro-

The Blessed

Rah, adore;

be

SadsM name. This compound also agrees in a

remarkable manner with the Jewish synonym for the Ineffable
Name of Jehovah, viz. Shem Hamphirosh, the Holy Word :
and Sax

for

1
satisfactory explanation of the
frequency of the talismans covered
with long strings of barbarous names
they must have been carried about by

the adept to enable him, on occasion,

by

reciting their

titles,

their evil influence.

thus to elude

THE

.EONS.

37

which was compressed by the Rabbins

The Word.
It is also a

AbraJc is

into

xli.

43),

where Pharaoh com-

own chariot, and that they

kneel down where the Egyptian

Abrak

actually retained in the Hebrew text

by an equivalent in that language.

Analogous
Abracura

is

whom

Vibia

is

Sabazis

title
is

catacombs

the

in

Yincentius

Abracura

name

described,
in

the two

over the consort of Bispater

conducted by Hermes, in

is

the very remarkable fresco existing in the

Vibia,

and not expressed

to this appears the circumstance that the

inscribed

infernal deities, before

and

or

shall ride in his

shall cry before him,

is

The Name,

most singular coincidence that the Egyptian word

used by Moses (Gen.

mands that Joseph

word

in

tomb of Yincentius
Now, this

Prsetextatus.

epitaph,

his

as

connected with

itself

evidently the

of

the priest of

the

Iao-religion.

Latinized spelling of Afipa

the latter, the Virgin, the usual mystic

name

Koprj

for Proserpine

whilst Abra, perhaps, bears the same meaning as in the Gnostic

terminology, where

it

also enters into the composition

of the

famous spell Abracadabra.

THE

2E0NS.

So much virtue being attached

names

of the iEons, it

to a true knowledge of the

would be unpardonable not to subjoin

them; and the following may be considered

authoritative register, being

He arranges them

himself, the profoundest doctor of the Gnosis.

in pairs, male

and female

their most

as

drawn up by Valentinus

that

in the

order of their successive

emanation from Bythos, the pre-existent, eternal Principle.

number

of the pairs is fifteen

In Apoc. xix.

12,

we have the

The

or the sacred numeral five three

clothed with a vesture dipped in blood,

precedent for thus expressing a title

His eyes
in an unknown tongue

and his name

God.

were as a flame of fire, and on his

head were many crowns, and he had a
name written (thereon) that no man
and he was
knew but he himself

mythology that every god has a Sacti

or female consort, through whom he

acts.

It

is

is

called

The Word

of

a necessity in the Hindoo

PROCESSION OF THE LOGOS, OR WORD.

38

times repeated.

Their names,

it will

be observed, are Syriac,

the va preceding the appellation of some of the female powers,

being merely the copulative and. Matter supposes Yalentinus

to

have been of Jewish

Tertullian states that he

8.
vert to Christianity
bishopric,

origin,

was

although born at Alexandria

of all a Platonist, then a con-

first

but disappointed in his aspirations to a

he founded a religion of his own.

1.

Atnpsiu and Ouraan

Depth and

2.

Bucuua, Thartuu

Mind, Truth.

Silence.

Ubucua, Thardeadia

Reason, Life.

4.

Meraxa, Artababa

Man, Church.

5.

Udua, Casten

o
Comforter, Faith.

5a.

Udu, Yacasteni

./

6.

Ampbaiu, Essumen

Fatherly, Hope.

7.

Vananim, Lamer

Motherly, Charity.

8.

Tarde, Athames

9. Susia,

11. Allora,

13.

Eternal, Intelligence.

Allora

10. Buciatba,

12. Oren,

Light, Beatitude.

Dammaddaria

Dammo

14. Assiouache, Belin

Massemo

15. Dexariche,

Wisdom.

Profundity, Mixture.

Lamasspechs

Andempbeets, Emphibochibaud

Eucharistic,

Unfading, Union.
.

Self-born,

Temperance.

Only-begotten, Unity.

Immoveable, Pleasure.

Epiphanius has evidently copied one pair (5) twice over, misby a difference in the spelling, which makes one pair beyond

led

the proper fifteen.

PB 0 CESSION OF THE LOGOS OB WOBD.

,

Perhaps the most singular, certainly the most characteristic

chapter in this transcendental science

is

the Theogony disclosed

in the Revelation of Marcus, the apostle of the Marcosiani.

The Supreme Quaternion came down unto him from

that

region that cannot be seen or named, in a female shape, because

the world would have been unable to bear them appearing in a

masculine form

and revealed unto him the generations of the

universe, untold before to either gods or men.

When

first

the

Father, the Inconceivable, Beingless, Sexless, began to be in

PROCESSION OF THE LOGOS, OR WORD.

39

and his

labour, he desired that his Ineffable should be born,

Invisible should be clothed with form

Word

mouth, and uttered the

standing before

like

he therefore opened his

This

unto Himself.

Him showed what He

Word

was, manifesting himself

Type or Form of the Invisible.

Now, the uttering of the Name came to pass in this wise
He (the Supreme) spoke the first word of His Name, which

as the

is

He

a syllable of four letters.

Finally,

made up

the fourth,

utterance of the whole

Each

four syllables.

ing of

Name

of twelve letters.

Name

and of

consists of thirty letters,

letter has a form, pronunciation,

and

spell-

not even the powers of the letter standing

Now, these united sounds make up the

itself.

Unbegotten, iEon

Beingless,

and these are the angels that always behold

Thus the Father, knowing himself to be

the face of the Father.

Incomprehensible, gave to each of the

own

letters.

Thus, the

own; but neither beholds nor understands that of

its

the entire

next to

then added the second syllable,

Then, the third, composed of ten

of four letters.

also

iEons,

letters, called

peculiar sound, inasmuch as none of them, singly,

is

its

com-

petent to utter the entire Name.

The subsequent

revelations of the Quaternion to Marcus, serve

to explain the frequent

occurrence of the naked female,

former Yenus Anadyomene, on Gnostic monuments.

having declared these things, the Quaternion added

show unto thee Truth whom

,

celestial mansions, that

the

After
I will

have brought down from the

thou shouldest behold her naked, acknow-

ledge her beauty, hear her speaking, and be astonished at her

Look

wisdom.
neck,

B and

A and $

her breasts,

T
I

at her belly,

and

feet,

M and N.

This

and

at

and 2

This

K
is

at her

and

figure, it will

from each

pahs of

extremity of the

at

at her ancles,

the body of Truth

be perceived,

successive

her

2; at

r and X

E and Y at her back, Z and

thighs, 0 and P at her knees,

her chest,

alphabet

and

&

this is the

this is the character of the Writing.

made by taking

letters

at her legs,

the Letters

is

up, therefore, at her head,

at her shoulders, with her hands,

perhaps

at

her

form of

Whereupon

thus constituting

them masculine and feminine.

EGYPTIAN DEITIES.

40

Truth, looking upon Marcus, opened her mouth, and uttered a

Word

and

and speak

this

Word became

Christ Jesus

Name

a Name which we know

and having named him she held her

peace.

Before quitting this subject, a rational doubt obtrudes

whether the primary application of the term Logos

to the

itself,

Divine

Emanation, was not intended for the mere interpretation of the

Babbinical term,

Name

Word

or

in fact, only the abbrevia-

tion of Ineffable Name, or Jehovah

meaning

suggested

Logos,

of

viz.,

Beason,

and

later, the

secondary

an immediate

Jews of Alexandria, with

analogy to the Platonizing

their

Sophia- Achamoth, the first-born of the Supreme Cause.

The composition of this Name extending to

letters,

may

the length of thirty

serve to afford some clue to the meaning of the in-

terminable, polysyllabic

title,

which runs either in one unbroken

assuming the curved form of an erect serpent,

circle, or else

around the margin of many Gnostic talismans, enclosing the

mystic design therein engraved.

An

example of

this appears to

be recognizable in the calcedony I have drawn in Plate

vi., 4.

EGYPTIAN DEITIES.
As the
place

deities of the ancient

upon the

mythology continue

to

hold their

earliest productions of the Basilidan sect,

some

in-

sight into their mystic purpose, and reasons for their adaptation to

new

the
in

system,

may be

obtained from a knowledge of the sense

which the powers and the

interpreted

when

creed of the land.

attributes of these ancient gods

their worship

A brief

was the

notice

is

principal deities, and the forms under

nized

together with their Coptic

sole

were

and undisputed

therefore subjoined of the

which they are

titles so often

to be recog-

met with on our

monuments, in strange juxtaposition with the holy names of the

Jewish Angels, with those of the Magian genii, with titles of
Indian origin
its

the very terminology of the religion indicating

remote and multifarious sources.

1

Phthas phonetic name Ptah,

is

represented in a close-fitting

robe, his feet joined together, standing upon a base of four steps,

EGYPTIAN DEITIES.
called the

41

Four Foundations, typifying the elements. 1

times he appears as a dwarf, and Priapean

Tore, with a scarabeus for a head.

Some-

sometimes as Ptah-

His proper attribute

is

the

baboon, the Cynocephalus.

Ammon,

2.

phonetic

Amn

with a human or sometimes a rams

He

head, from which rises a double, particolored plume.

artificial beard,

and bears a

He

sceptre.

is

Mendes, Priapean, and brandishing a whip

bound

and often he

is

thodaemon.

His symbol, the vase Canopus,

title

feet

Ammon-Chnubis he has goats horns

the Serpent, called by the Greeks, Aga-

together in the character of

figured as

with his

has an

modified into Pan-

is

so called from his

Chnubis, thus pronounced by the Greeks.

United with the

Sun he becomes Ammon-Ea.

with hawks head supporting a
3. The Sun-god, Phre or Ea
disk and the serpent Uraeus. Plate ii., 2.
ibis-headed, the Scribe of the gods. Some4. Thoth, or Thoyt
:

times he appears with the head of a hawk, as Hermes Trisme-

His symbol

gistus.

the winged disk (Tat)

is

answering to the

Mir of the Persians.

5.

Sochos, or Suchos

bolized
6.

by a

with a crocodiles head ; or else sj^m-

crocodile with the tail bent.

The Moon-god, P e-Ioh (Pe

with his

and the

feet close together

is

Again, this deity

crescent.

casting gold-dust over the heavens

with
7.

figured as hermaphrodite,

is
:

that

is,

bespangling them

stars.

Osiris

Ousri

Man, distinguished by

as a

holding a crook and a whip.

Arocres; Aror

of hair on his head

8.

the Coptic definite article),

a single lock of hair upon the head,

seated on the lotus

symbol, the

hawk

The Eye

is

his tall cap,

his symbol.

the Horus of the Greeks, has a single lock

he

is

represented, suckled

by

Isis,

or else

sometimes wearing the hawks head.

His

at the breast of Isis, appears in a basalt torso in

the Borgia Collection.

9.

has a

Anubis; Anbo:

human head

Coptic name, Anbo,

is

always jackal-headed: and sometimes

besides, springing from a separate neck.

may

often be recognised in our formulae.

Afterwards adopted by the Rosicrucians in the same sense.

This

GODDESSES.

42

Bebon, or Babys, has a hippopotamuss head, or else a cro-

10.

codiles

hand a sword.

in his

He

Typhon.

This figure used to be taken for

represents the constellation Ursa Major in the

Zodiac of Denderah.

GODDESSES.
1

N eith

expressed by the vulture, or

head of a vulture or a

by a female with the

In the latter case she takes the

lion.

title

of Taf-Net.
2.

Athor

figured with the head of a cow, or else a

crowned, with the vulture overshadowing

a

hawk within
3.

Isis

it.

She

is

womans

denoted by

a square.

a female with cows horns, between which rests the

discus.
4.

Sate

sents Truth

The

the Grecian Hera, with plumes on her head, repre;

and so appears in the Judgment of the Dead.

four Genii of the

Amenthes or Hades, having respectively

the heads of a man, jackal, baboon, and hawk, are often placed
together, as

mummy-like

figures,

upon the Canopic

vases.

SYMBOLS EXPLAINED.
Plutarch, in his treatise

De

Iside et Osiride, has explained

certain of the most frequent symbols, and that,

it

would seem,

upon the best authority.

Isis

sometimes

by the crescent

signifies the

Hence water,

of the Nile.

Moon, when she

is

represented

sometimes the Earth, as-fecundated by the waters

as the issue of Osiris, is carried in a

vase in her processions.

his
Osiris is signified by a figure of an Eye and a Sceptre
name being compounded of Os, many and Iris, eye.
The Eig-leaf stands for King, or else for the South.
The Lizard, which was supposed to conceive by the ear and
:

to bring forth through the

the

Word

i.

e.,

mouth,

is

the type of the generation of

of the Logos, or Divine

Wisdom. (A

satisfactory

explanation of the lizard placed upon Minervas breast, as seen

on some gems.)

The

Scarabeus, in

its

making globes

for the reception of its

SYMBOLS EXPLAINED.
eggs,

and in

Sun.

The

its

43

retrograde movements, imitates the motion of the

insect also has no female

so at least ran the popular

opinion in Egypt.

The Asp expresses a Star

for like that luminary,

it

moves

swiftly without any organs of locomotion.

The

Ibis stands for the

an equilateral triangle

Moon

its

legs

when extended making

1
.

Horus wears a wreath of Persea-leaves, because the

that tree resembles the heart as
,

fruit of

leaves do in shape the

its

human

The legend goes that the tree (Cordia Myxa, or Sebestene Plum) was first planted at Memphis by Perseus, and hence
In memory of his mythical ancestor, Alexander orits name.
tongue.

dained that a wreath of

games he

instituted

its

branches should form the prize in the

at his

new

capital.

without a succession of fruit and leaves

plum

pares to a red

and also

The

tree is never

the former Pliny com-

states that the tree will not

grow

in Europe.

Horapollos interpretation of the Sacred Animals so often

figured on these

relics,

may be

briefly noticed here in

con-

nexion with the more important symbols. But his whole treatise
bears on

its very face the evidence of having been excogitated by

some pragmatical Alexandrian Greek, perfectly ignorant of what
he was writing about, but impudently passing off his own con-

jectures for traditional interpretations of the symbols

works of antiquity surrounding him.

He must have

upon the
written

under the Lower Empire, when the knowledge of hieroglyphical

inscriptions
first

to

was entirely

century

lost

Germanicus the ancient

Thehes

It is only in

visit

vestigia

still

historical tablets,

magna

was

kept up in the

veterum Thebarum
et

on his

visit

to

some rare instances that Horapollo has

1
It is hard to see the analogy between the moon and a triangle but
such was certainly accepted in their
symbolism and often this figure appears set upon a column and adored
by the Cynocephalus, Lunas favourite

beast.
2 Mox

for it

Tacitus particularly notes that an aged priest read

manebant

structis

molibus literse Aegyptise priorem opulentiam complexse

jussusque e senioribus sacerdotum patrium sermonem
interpretari, (An. ii. 60).
This visit
;

was made

a.d. 19.
It would hence
appear that already the knowledge of
the hieroglyphic character was fast

dying out.

SYMBOLS EXPLAINED.

44

preserved some ancient and correct traditions as to the purport

of symbols the most popular and obvious, and therefore the last
to be forgotten.

The Baboon, Cynocephalus,

denotes the Moon, because he has

a certain sympathy with that luminary, and during her dark

quarter

without eating, his eyes fixed upon the ground, as

sits

though mourning for her

Also he denotes the priesthood,

loss.

being by nature circumcised, and abhorring

Erect, and with

paws

and a

lifted up,

head, he symbolises the

New Moon, the

he thus congratulates.

By

regular intervals, he

first

division of the

fish

and fishermen.

basilisk (Asp)
first

upon his

appearance of which

and

his voiding his urine at fixed

suggested to observers the regular

day into hours

and furnished the

first

idea of

the invention of the Clepsydra, or water-clock.

The Dog (Jackal) represents the Sacred

functionary ought always to be studying

Scribe, because that

and likewise should

bark at and make himself disagreeable to every body.

In an-

other sense he expresses a Prophet, from his habit of staring

fixedly at the statues of the gods.

Hawk

Lion, from the resem-

stands for God, or the Sun.

blance of his round face to the solar disk,

throne of Horus, as the Egyptians

The
or

New

denoted by a

is

its

on which account

By

is

placed under the

the Sun.

rising of the Nile, called in the

the flood attains

made

name

Egyptian tongue

Now

by three large vases, because

height when the sun is in that sign

lion, or

greatest

also the dischargers of the sacred fountains are

in the form of lions heads.

the Ibis they signify the heart, because that bird

attribute of

Hermes (Thoth), who

all reason.

The

of a heart

Ibis also, in its

own

an

shape, resembles the figure

touching which matter, there

current amongst the Egyptians.

is

presides over the heart and

is

a very long legend

DESCENT OF THE SOUL PLATONIC.

45

DESCENT OF THE SOUL: PLATONIC.

The powers and

influence of the Planetary Genii, sons of

Ildabaoth, and the astrological notions as to the influence of the

planets

upon mans fortune

same source

in this

life,

come apparently from the

doctrine touching the planetary

as the strange

origin of the faculties of the

human

soul

taught by the later

Alexandrian Platonists, and thus expounded by Macrobius (Somn.

The Soul, as it descends from the one and indiScip. I. 12).
visible source of its being, in order to be united to the body,

passes through the Milky

tion of the

Way

into the Zodiac at the intersec-

two in Cancer and Capricorn,

the Sun, because the two

called the

Gates of

solstices are placed in these signs.

Through Cancer, or the Gate of Man, the soul descends upon

earth, which is its spiritual death.
Through Capricorn, the
Gate of the Gods, it re-ascends up to heaven, its new birth
*

taking place upon

its

As soon

release from the body.

soul has left Cancer and the

Milky Way,

as the

begins to lose

it

its

Leo enters upon the first phase of

its future condition here below.
During its downward progress
the soul, at first a sphere in form, is elongated into a cone and
divine nature, and arriving at

now

begins to feel the influence of Matter, so that

it

joins the

by this novel draught. This

by the Crater of Bacchus placed in the
heavens between Cancer and Leo. The Soul thus descending, as

body intoxicated and

circumstance

it

is

stupified

typified

passes through each sphere, receives successive coatings, as

were, of a luminous body, and

faculties

which

it

it is

in Jupiter, with the

its

probation upon earth.

supplied with reason and intelli-

power of action

irascible principle; in the Sun,

in Mars, with the

with sensation and speculation

in Venus, with the appetites; in Mercury, with the

declaring and expressing

faculty of generating and

Hence
make up

thoughts

in the

power

of

Moon, with the

augmenting the body.

as the Planets contain all the elements, so to speak, that

the Inner

tyranny over
jected to

its

it

furnished with the several

has to exercise during

Accordingly, in Saturn

gence

is

it

Man, the Genii,

their rulers, exercise their

through such agencies so long as the soul

them during its imprisonment in the body.

is

sub-

DESCENT OF THE SOUL PLATONIC.

46

to this theory is the doctrine of the Servants of

Cognate

Saturn, in the remotest North (evidently a relic of the Druidi-

by Plutarch in his curious treatise on

The Face in the Moons Orb. This taught, that in the gene-

cal philosophy), preserved

Man

ration of

the Earth supplies the body, the Moon, the

What

the Sun the vovq.

vovq to the \pvxn-

In the

death.

the \pvxv

first,

to the body, the

Demeter, whose

Hermes, forcibly separates the

The

is

fellow

\pvxv, or soul,

Soul, after a certain penance in the

to purify

the

is

is

the earthly

from the body.

Middle Space, in order

from the pollution of the body,

it

same

This composite nature undergoes a double

caught up by the

is

Moon, and passes through the Earths shadow during the

eclipse,

after a probation proportioned in time to its deserts

but the

wicked, as they strive to enter (before their purification

plete), are scared

Moon

the

away by the

in the enjoyment of tranquillity

into Acu/jlovq, or Genii,

is

com-

The good abide in

become converted
regulating human

terrible face.
;

busy themselves in

But

affairs

upon

spirits

misconduct themselves, they are put again into a human

earth, render oracles, &c.

these beatified

if

body, and sent back to the earth.

After a certain time the vovq, or Mind, aspires to return to
source, the Sun,

when Persephone, with her

venly Hermes, gently and gradually separates

This

\f;vxV

is

the second death

the ipvxv abiding in the

Moon

colleague the heait

from the grosser

the vovq flying up to the Sun,

in a

dreamy

existence, until

totally absorbed into her substance, exactly as the

the remains of the body.

its

Calm and philosophic

it is

Earth absorbs

souls are quickly

absorbed, but active, passionate, erotic natures with great

diffi-

culty; they wander about in mid-space divested of their vovq

becoming Tityi and Typhones, throwing confusion into oracles,
,

as

Typhon does

into

at Delphi, until at last they also are attracted

and absorbed by the Moon

This

is

the identical doctrine of

no wonder that Pliny was

struck by the analogy between Druidism and the tenets of the Magi.

Manes

Justinus Kerner, in his Scherin

von Prevorst, most ingeniously anato2

2
.

mizes the inner man, and makes him

consist
Geist.

of

The

Seele,

Nerven-geist,

and

Nerven-geist, or nervous

energy, being of a grosser nature, continues united with the Seele on its

separation from the body, rendering

it

MITHRAIC MONUMENTS.

47

MITHRAIC MONUMENTS.
These may be considered as representing the purely Persian

The Mithras-

element, so important an ingredient in Gnosticism.

worship at

first

said to have

Pontus

indeed makes

its

appearance as a distinct creed,

been introduced into Rome

by Pompey, where

however

after the conquest of

it

speedily became so

popular, as with the earlier-imported Serapis- worship, to have

entirely usurped the place of the ancient Hellenic

In

deities.

fact,

and Italian

during the second and third centuries of the

Empire, Serapis and Mithras

may be

said to have

become the

world.

It

was the theology of Zoroaster in

greatly simplified, so as to assimilate

systems of the West.

Mithras,

who

Under

this

its

sole

Roman

objects of worship even in the remotest corners of the

origin,

but

the previously existing

it to

form

it

took

in the Zoroastrian creed is not the

its

name from

Supreme Being,

Ormuzd, but the chief of the subordinate powers, or AmshasMithra

pands.

is

the Zend

title of

the Sun, the peculiar domain

by the Greeks as their

Thus Ovid Placat equo Persis
In the same character he was iden-

of this Spirit, and hence he was admitted

former Phoebus and Hyperion.

radiis
tified

Hyperiona cinctum.

with Dionysus and Liber, or Phanaces, the Sun-god of the

and his mysteries replaced the ancient Dionysia.

Asiatics,

How

important the Mithraica had become in the second century, appears from the fact recorded

condescended to be initiated

and

tests of the

by Lampridius, that Commodus

into them.
With their penances

courage of the candidate for admission, they

have been maintained by a constant tradition through the secret

societies of the

modern

Middle Ages and the Rosicrucians, down to the

faint reflex

of the

latter,

heads more particulars will be given

ments come under consideration.

visible in the

and enabling
jects,

make

form of an apparition,
it

to affect material ob-

noises,

move

articles,

and

such like things perceptible to the

living senses, in short, to spucken.

On

these

distinctive

monu-

the Freemasons.

when their

My

object

now

is

to trace

According to its nature, this composite

being takes a longer or shorter time
to

be

dissolved, the Geist alone being

immortal.

MITHRAIC MONUMENTS.

48

the gradations

by which the Mithraic

ideas

merge

the

into

Alexandrian and semi-Christian Gnosticism.

That the mysterious

by the Egyptian

title

Abraxas said to have been devised

,

means Holy Name, has been fully

demonstrated by Bellermann. That the symbolical figure embodying the idea refers to the Sun is equally certain. Similarly,
the Hindoo Ineffable Name, is applied in the Gaytri to the
Basilides,

Fierce and all-pervading Sun. Basilides was not by any means

a Christian heretic, as the later Fathers found

it

expedient to

represent him, but rather as his contemporary Clement relates,

a philosopher devoted to the contemplation of divine things ;

and in

all likelihood

imbued with the Buddhistic

which

notions,

the perpetual intercourse between Alexandria* and the Indian

coast

had

long before naturalized in Egypt

Hence we sometimes

find Mithraic

and Palestine.

and Abraxas amulets com-

bined in the same gem, the finest sample of which

is

a green

jasper (Ma.rlborough Cabinet), exhibiting on one side Mithras

slaughtering the Bull, on the other Abraxas himself.

later

we

philosophy, as

shall presently

find in the

In the
case of

was

Serapis himself, the primary idea of all the principal deities

explained as symbolizing the solar luminary; and their nu-

merous names designating not separate beings, but attributes of

one and the same.

truly

Hindoo

apparently unlimited polytheism

is

notion,

whereby

their

reduced, for the enlightened

Brahmin, to the acknowledgment of the One Supreme.

There

is

very good reason to believe that as in the East the

worship of Serapis was at

gradually merged into
stance, carrying

it

first

combined with Christianity, and

with an entire change of name, not sub-

with it many of its ancient notions and rites

so in

the West a similar influence was exerted by the Mithraic religion.

Seel (Mith.p. 287)

is

of opinion that as long as the

nion lasted in Germany

we

Roman domi-

find also traces of the Mosaic

Law

as

there were single Jewish, so were there also single Christian families existing

amongst the Gentiles.

The

latter,

however, for the

most part ostensibly paid worship to the Roman gods in order

to

escape persecution, holding secretly in their hearts the religion

of Christ.

It is

by no means improbable

that under the per-

mitted symbols of Mithras they worshipped the Son of

God and

MITHRAIC MONUMENTS.
In

the mysteries of Christianity.

this point of

so frequent in

Germany

faith of the early Christian

Bomans.

monuments

49

view the Mithraic

are evidences of the secret

That such a connexion was actually declared by the partisans

when

of Mithraicism

priests of

him

we

I.,

Dis. 7),

in the cap (istius pileati) used at one time to say,

our capped one

affinity

by the express
I know that the

in its decline, is proved

statement of Augustine (In Johan.

himself a Christian.

is

find also

In this asserted

an explanation of the motive which induced

Constantine to adopt for the most general reverse upon his

copper coinage, retained long after his conversion, the figure of

To

the Sun, with the legend,

panion (or guardian)

ancient Phoebus or the

as

my

the Invincible Sun,

com-

being a personification either of the

new Sun

of Bighteousness,

equally

acceptable to both Christian and Gentile, from the double interpretation of which that type

was

susceptible.

Similarly the ancient festival held on the 25th day of December

in honour of the Birthday of the Invincible One,

brated by the Great

Games

ancient Kalendar

vm.

wards transferred

to the

the

precise

cele-

marked in the
c.m.xxiv. 2 ), was after-

of the Circus (as

kal. ian. n. invicti.

commemoration of the Birth

of Christ,

day of which many of the Fathers confess was

Thus Chrysostom (Horn. 31) quotes the above

then unknown.

direction of the Kalendar, and rightly understands

it

to the Birthday of the Invincible Mithras, adding,

also the

and

Birthday of Christ was

lately fixed at

as referring

On

this

day

Borne in order that

whilst the heathen were busied with their profane ceremonies,

might perform their holy rites undisturbed.

Again he exclaims, But they call this day the Birthday of the

the Christians

Invincible

One

who

so invincible as the

and vanquished Death ?

of the Sun
saith,

arise

Upon

He

is

the

Or because they
Sun

Lord

of Bighteousness of

you, fearful ones, the

with healing in his wings.

Sun

that overthrew

style it the

Birthday

whom

Malachi

of Bighteousness shall

And Leo

the Great (Serm. II.

on the Birth of the Lord) blames those Christians who gave

soli invicto comiti.

c.m.xxiv. signifies 24 consecutive

courses in the chariot-races given in

the Circus Maximus.

MITHRAIO MONUMENTS.

50
offence to the

some by

weaker souls through the shameful persuasion of

whom

much on

this festival of ours is reverenced not so

account of Christs Birth as on that of the Bising of the

Sun, to use their

own words.

Again the

traditional

New

names of

Magi appear to have been in their origin mere epithets

whose properties they express thus Caspar
= The White One, Melchior = King of Light, Baltazar = Lord of

the Three

of the Solar Deity,

Treasures

1
.

(Baltasar

is

the Septuagint spelling of Belshazzar.)

Mithras was naturally enough admitted as a type of Christ, the

Creator and Maintainer of the Universe, seeing that the Zoro-

him to be the first emanation of Ormuzd,

Good Principle, and his manifestation of himself to the world 2
was from this creed that the Jews, during their long sojourn

astrian creed declares

the
It

in Persia, in all probability derived the spiritual portion of their

religion such as

we find it flourishing during their second kingdom.

we discover them holding the belief in a

Then, and not before,

future state of rewards and punishments, the latter carried on in

a fiery lake, the existence of a complete hierarchy of angels

as well

as

of demons,

the souls immortality, and the Last

which notions were important features of Zoroasters scheme, and are recognised by Josephus as equally
essential portions of the Jewish religion of his own times.

Judgment;

To

all

all

these ideas Moses in the

allusion;

and even

Law makes

not the remotest

to the last days of Jerusalem

Sadducees continuing perfect Secularists

we

find the

and these represented

the most ancient and wealthiest families of the race, priding

themselves on keeping the

Law of Moses

pure and undefiled from

the foreign doctrines imbibed by the majority during their enforced

sojourn amongst the Gentiles.

It is

hardly necessary here to

allude to the ingenious theory of Bishop Warburton, set forth in

1

The

bas-relief over the gate of the

Baptistery,

Parma

(12th century),

is

generally regarded as a Mithraic mo-

nument; and certainly

explain

to

the

it is difficult

design

on purely

separate worship,

which in

secondary deities have often usurped

the honours of those of the

Christian grounds.
2

Mithras used to be invoked together with the sun, and thus came to
be confounded with that luminary
whence he became the object of a
:

later times

Ormuzd himself, and

was much better known than the
original to the people of the West. The
eclipsed that of

first

rank,

as Vishnu and Siva in the case of

Brahma, Serapis over the older gods

of Egypt, Jupiter over the primitive
Italic, &c.

MITHRAIC MONUMENTS.
his Divine Legation of Moses,

who

51

converts this entire omission

of all spiritualism from his teaching into the strongest argument

But from what-

in support of its direct inspiration from Heaven.

how

ever source derived,

nature and

office of

closely does this

Magian idea of the

Mithras coincide with the definition of the

by the author of the Epistle

Saviours nature given

the

to

Hebrews, a profound Jewish theologian, as being the brightness (or rather the reflexion 1 ) of His glory, and the express

image (or model) of His person, and upholding

word

all

better than the angels, as

He

more excellent name than they

The Mithraic

by the

things

His power and, again, as being made

of

much

so

hath by inheritance obtained a

!

resemblance to

rites bore a strong

many

subse-

quently established in the Catholic Church, and supplied the

model

also of the initiatory ceremonies observed in the secret

societies of the

Middle Ages, and by their representatives in

modern

The

times.

believers

were admitted by the

rite

of

baptism, they had a species of Eucharist, whilst the courage

and endurance of the neophyte were tested by twelve consecutive

trials called Tortures ,

undergone within a cave constructed

the purpose, before he

These

mysteries.

was admitted

rites are alluded to

in the earliest notice of

them now

by Justin Martyr (Apol. II.)

The Apostles in the

extant.

commentaries written by themselves, which

have delivered down to us

them

He

for

to a participation in the

how

we

call

that Jesus thus

having taken bread after

He

Gospels,

commanded

had given thanks

2
,

said,

commemoration of me this is my body. And having

taken a cup and returned thanks he said, This is my blood, and

Do

this in

delivered

it to

have taught

them

to

Which

alone.

thing indeed the evil spirits

be done out of mimicry in the mysteries and

initiatory rites of Mithras.

For in these a cup of water and

bread are set out, with the addition of certain words, in the
sacrifice or act of

worship of the person about to be

a thing which ye either

know by

1
This reflexion of the Invisible
Supreme, in his First Emanation, is a

distinguishing feature of the Gnostic

theogonies already noticed.

initiated,

personal experience or

may

This expression shows that the

notion of blessing or consecrating the

elements was as yet

unknown

Christians.

e 2

to the

MITHRAIC MONUMENTS.

52
learn

by inquiry.

Again on

this point Tertullian in the next

century has (Prescript.) The Devil, whose business

to

it is

pervert the truth, mimics the exact circumstances of the Divine

Sacraments in the mysteries of

that

his believers

is to say,

He

idols.

and followers

himself baptizes some,

he promises forgive-

ness of sins from the sacred fount, and thus initiates

religion of Mithras
soldiers

he there celebrates the

the symbol of the Resurrection

The

sword.

even

fellow-soldiers,

any

into the

and wins the crown with the

ye are not

if

he brings in

oblation of bread

usage he thus explains

last

them

he thus marks on the forehead his own

to

Blush,

my Roman

be judged by Christ, but by

who when he is undergoing initiation in

camp of the Powers of Darkness, when the
him (a sword being placed between as if in

soldier of Mithras,

the cave, the very

wreath

is

offered to

semblance of martyrdom) and then about to be set on his head,

he

is

warned

transferring

My

only crown

wreath

and

put forth his hand and push the wreath away,

to

it to,

perchance, his shoulder, saying at the same time,

is

Mithras.

this is a

to his initiation, for

Mithras

crown

is

if

order that

thenceforth he never wears a

mark he has
is

for a test,

whenever

tried as

immediately proved to be a soldier of

he throws down the wreath offered

in his god.

the Devil,

he

And

to

him, saying his

Let us therefore acknowledge the

craft of

who mimics certain things of those that be divine in

he may confound and judge us by the faith of his own

But a dispassionate examiner will discover that

these two zealous Fathers somewhat beg the question in assumfollowers.

ing that the Mithraic rites were invented as counterfeits of the

Christian Sacraments

the former having really been in existence

long before the promulgation of Christianity.

being the

case, there is

simply commemorative or distinctive

himself,

rites instituted

by Christ

were afterwards invested with the mystic and super-

natural virtues, in a later age insisted

Meaning, no doubt, that simulaof death and of restoration to

life expressed by the corpse under the
horses feet, so often depicted on these
tion

stones.

So far from this

very good reason to suspect that the

See Plate

II. 1.

upon

as articles of faith,

Which was

of the

the universal custom

ancients at

all

festivals,

the

itself

a most distinctive badge of

gularity.

so

being without one was in

that

sin-

MITHRAIC MONUMENTS.

53

by succeeding and unscrupulous missionaries eager to outbid the

more ancient ceremonies of a cognate character.

attractions of

Thereby they offered

it

to the convert,

through the fulfilment as

were of certain magical ceremonies,

those spiritual ad-

all

vantages of which the rites themselves were originally designed

as the symbols, not the instruments.

In the particulars that have come down to us of the celebraMithraic sacraments, certain singular analogies

tion of these

The bread used was a round

arrest our attention.

emblem

of the solar disk,

cake,

and termed the Mizd, in which word

Seel detects the etymology of the

name Missa

applied to the

Bloodless sacrifice, for this Mizd was certainly the prototype

of the Host,

which

is

circular

cup or chalice frequently

altar, or rather table

employment

is

and a curious piece of jugglery in

These were
rite,

filled

by the Marcosii

(a semi-Christian

were introduced.

with white wine which, during the progress of

instantaneously changed into a blood-red purple and

blue colour respectively.

Magus

Then the

officiating minister,

or

as Epiphanius styles him, hands one of these vases to a

lady in the congregation and requests her to bless

done he pours out of

it

into another vase of

1
The popular derivation of Missa
from the concluding words of the service, Ite, missa est, is absurd in the

noun; in

extreme.
It is the object sacrificed
that gives its name to the rite (accord-

one,

ing to the rule in such cases), and this

object, the Wafer, has ever been styled
the j0'ostia, the victim, in Hebrew
MessaJi.

its

In the

of the clearest glass

celebration of the Eucharist

made

The

figured standing on the Mithraic

recorded by Epiphanius (Hseres. xxxiv.).

sect) three vases

the

and of the same dimensions.

is

The

first converts,

as well as

the Gnostics, were fond of naturalising

Hebrew words, and applying them to

own customs. Thus Phase is the

their

technical term for the Old Covenant.

In hac

mensa novas

Novum Pascha novi

legis

Regis

Phase vetus terminal

The Latin term

Missa is a neuter

itself

capacity,

a complete refutation

of the vulgar derivation.

have preserved a
for

Which

it.

much greater

The Rabbins

tradition,

and a true

once, of the origin of the

Alphonsus de Spira, in his

Wafer.
Fortalicium Fidei (H. 2), says that its
circular form is a symbol of the Sun,

and that

it is

offered to the genius of

that luminary as a victim.

For the

Talmudists hold that Abraham and

the Prophets were inspired by the
genius of Saturn, a good and pure
spirit; but Jesus by that of Mercury,
a malevolent one and the Christian
;

was the work of Jupiter, Merand the Sun, all combining to-

religion

cury,

gether for the purpose.

MITHHAIC MONUMENTS.

54

with the prayer,

May

the grace of God, which

inconceivable, inexplicable,

Him

knowledge of

Whereupon the

swells and swells until

it

all

liquor in the larger vase

runs over the brim.

of Mithras long survived in Borne under the

Christian emperors, and, doubtless,

much

longer in the remoter

of the semi-independent provinces.

districts

above

within thee, sowing the grain of mustard-

seed in good ground.

The worship

is

thy inner man, and augment the

fill

After a.d. 400,

few years ago your kinsman

Gracchus, a name the very echo of patrician nobility, when he

Jerome, writing to Lseta, says

held the

office of

Prefect of the City, did he not upset, break, and

burn the Cave of Mithras, and

served in the initiatory

rites,

all

those monstrous images that

the figures of Corax, Niphus, the

Soldier, the Lion, the Persian, Helios,

and Father Bromius ?

In the representations here enumerated we recognize symbols

monuments under consideration.

Chneph the lion-headed

constantly occurring upon the

The raven
serpent

Corax

in

armed man

the

in
;

Niphus,

the lion

the youth in the Persian

garb; the sun, expressed either by Sol in his quadriga, or by

the eight-rayed star; and Bromius, the Roarer, an appropriate
epithet of the

Grecian Dionysus; the solar deity under his

Indian aspect, the Asiatic Phanaces

who

appears as a youth

invested with the attributes of Apollo and Bacchus.

(fig.

62)

Mithraic
bols

may

and in

initia,

may be

it all

discovered.

face to face,

at the

gem

the above-mentioned figures and sym-

Two

serpents erect form a sort of frame

to the composition, at the top of

Luna

Chiflets

on good grounds be explained as a picture of these

which we

see the busts of Sol

and

between them an eagle with expanded wings,

In the

back of each a raven.

field are

two crowned,

naked men on horseback, trampling upon two dead bodies

between them a kneeling figure in the attitude of supplication,

over whose head appear two
stand two soldiers.

loaf,

stars.

In the exergue

Behind each horseman

is set

out a table supporting

a roe (a Bacchic attribute), a chalice, a sword, and some-

thing indistinct, but seemingly intended for the wreath spoken

of

by

Tertullian.

simple design

The

reverse of the stone presents a more

two crested serpents (dracones) twined about

wands and looking

into a

cup

two

stars

over a table resting

MITHRAIC MONUMENTS.
upon a larger vase

55

and on each side a bow, the ends termi-

Here,

nating in serpents heads.

it

seems

to

me, are indicated

certain amongst the established trials of courage (the

them)

Degrees, or Tortures, as Suidas terms

Twelve

which the

to

neophyte was subjected, exactly, though in much severer

as is the apprentice

on his admission into a Masonic Lodge

During

amongst ourselves.

reality,

which

this probation,

lasted forty

by the four elements he lay naked

a certain number of nights upon the snow, then was scourged
These Twelve Trials are sculptured
for the space of two days.
days the neophyte
,

was

tested

on the border of the famous Mithraic bas-relief preserved in

museum at Innspruck and similar scenes are discovered by

Yon Hammer in certain mysterious carvings still existing in the

the

Templar churches, figured

In our

anon.

gem

in his elaborate essay of

the kneeling candidate

all the terrific or mysterious host of

is

which more

surrounded by

Mithras so remorselessly

by the zealous Gracchus. Another circumstance

denoted by the two corpses trampled upon by the crowned
destroyed

horsemen

the

refers to one recorded test of the neophytes courage

apparent approach of death

among

mad

the other

for

Lampridius mentions,

Commodus,

that, during the

Mithraic ceremonies, where a certain thing was to be done for

freaks of

the sake of inspiring terror

murder

he polluted the

rites

by a

real

an expression which clearly shows that a scenic repre-

sentation of such an act entered into the proceedings

raven properly takes

its

The

1
.

place here as an attribute of Apollo, the

sun-god of the Hellenic mythology, whence

it is

often engraved

seated on his lyre.

But the doctrines

more

as well as the rites of this religion can be

intelligibly explained as

displaying them either

As

in the

candidate,

modem

ordered

bandage from his

by

where the
remove the

rite,

to

eyes, sees a

we review

certain

monuments

direct representation or symbolically.

num-

ber of swords pointed in the

threatening

naked

manner

breast.

possible

at

most
his

MITHRAIC TALISMANS.

56

MITHBAIC TALISMANS.
Mithraic gems are for

most part earlier in date than

tlie

those emanating from the Alexandrian Gnosis, and in no

connected with

inspection in separating the two classes, the former being

by the superiority of their

way

Little difficulty will he found

doctrines.

its

style,

on

marked

and yet more so by the absence

of the Egyptian symbols and the long Coptic legends usually

accompanying the
best period of

perceive
of his

how

more

Indeed,

latter.

Eoman

art,

many

them belong

of

the age of Hadrian

and

it is

to the

easy to

the worship of Apollo gradually merged into that

spiritual Oriental representative, as the religions of

Indian origin began to get the upper hand throughout the

Empire

religions essentially speculative, and relating professedly

to the matters of the other

world and the Invisible, so contrary

to the old Western notions, active, materialistic, and concerning

themselves only about the Present and the Yisible.

According

to the constant rule as to the material selected for

talismans, the Jasper, green, mottled, or yellow,

is

almost exclu-

sively employed for the intagli connected with the Mithraic

ideas,

which take the place of Phoebus and his

works of the second and third

good execution,
the

many

first Caesars,

centuries.

attributes in the

To judge from

their

of these intagli date even from the time of

and thus form, as

it

were, the introduction to

the innumerable host of Gnostic gems amidst whose barbarism

the glyptic art of the ancients expires.

In their origin they

spring from the Persian doctrines so widely diffused throughout

the

Eoman world under

the Middle Empire, which taught the

exclusive worship of the genius of the Sun, the fountain of light

and life

a notion philosophically* true,

be but a form of electricity.

As we

if

indeed the vital principle

shall see hereafter, the later

Platonists, like Macrobius, laboured hard to

make

out the mul-

titudinous deities of the old religions, wherever established, to

be merely epithets and expressions for the same divinity in his

This they did to accommodate the old-

various characters.

established ideas to the overpowering influence of the Buddhistic

theosoph}",

which taught that the innumerable

deities

of the

M1THRAIC TALISMANS.
Hindoo mythology were hut names
Triad in

its

for the energies of the First

successive avatars or manifestations to the world.

Earliest amongst these designs

is

the Lion, the Suns

astrologically speaking, surrounded with

jaws a

head;

bulls

emblem not
For in

57

or trampling on the serpent, here the

of wisdom, as formerly, but of the Evil Principle.

where poison

notions emanating from the East,

all

House

holding in his

stars,

is

the characteristic quality of the serpent-race, this animal has

most proper symbol of the Destroyer, whilst

been adopted

as the

in the West,

where the race

and a mere object of wonder,

it

Apollo and Esculapius

the whole universe in

Again,

its

yearly renewing

its

slough), hence the attribute of

off its
;

part, innocuous,

ever has symbolized wisdom

and eternity (from the popular belief in

youth by the casting

most

for the

is,

and in the Gothic creed binding together

its

perpetual embrace.

we have Mithras

himself, a youth in Persian attire,

plunging a dagger, acinaces the national weapon, into the throat

,

of a prostrate bull

and the signs of the Zodiac.

tion of Mithraic ideas

notice

is

by the

the whole surrounded

sun, and moon,

But the most complete representa-

and symbols that has ever come under

the intaglio figured

by Caylus (Rec.

vi. PI. 84).

my

It is

engraved on a very fine agate, two inches long by one and a-half
wide.

In the centre

the Bull, whose

his hind legs

tail

is

the usual type of Mithras slaughtering

terminates in three wheat-ears, and between

depends a vast scorpion

beneath

is

the lion

On

strangling the serpent, creature of darkness and death.

each side

is

a fir-tree (which in

its

shape represents a flame

),

against which are fixed torches, one pointing up, the other

At the
Above each

down, emblems of the rising and the setting sun.

of one

is

again

is

a scorpion, of the other a bulls head.

a torch, pointing each in opposite directions.

principal group

in her biga.

is

The

flanked by Apollo in his quadriga, and Diana

Above the whole stand two winged

with serpents and leaning upon long

side
tree

1
pine-cone was adopted from the
most ancient times for the emblem of
fire, and therefore appears held by

sceptres,

figures entwined

between

whom

certain Assyrian gods in the earliest

sculptures,

MITHRAIC TALISMANS.

58

are three flames, besides four

more

at the side of the right-hand

making up the sacred number, seven

figure,

to the planets.

be protected by the talisman

to contain a

stars, is

evidently the

on

soul

praying for purification.

be fully interpreted,

this elaborate composition

be found

or perhaps allusive

naked female, surrounded by ten

her knees before the left-hand winged figure

to

summary

it

Could
would doubtless

of the Mithraic creed

but the

legends preserved in the Zendavesta supply a sufficient explanation of some portions, whilst others derive light from a comparison with larger

monuments

giving plants that sprang from the

when

same

of the

Bulls tail terminating in wheat-ears

class.

Thus the

expresses the fifty

tail

life-

of the Primeval Bull

The seed of the same animal was

up by the Izeds (genii) to the moon, where, purified in
her beams, it was formed by Ormuzd into a new pair, the
parents of all the creatures of earth, air, and water. The scordestroyed by Ahriman.

carried

pion hangs between the hind legs in the part of the body under
the influence of that Sign, for Manilius says

and in

The

fiery Scorpion in the grain delights

connexion

this particular

serpent lying below does Winter.

Manilius

(iv.

217)

With

it

typifies

The reason

Autumn,
is

as the

thus given by

fiery tail

when

Scorpio threatens war,

Whilst through the stars he guides the solar car

He searches earth with penetrating rays.
And the mixed seed deep in her furrows lays.

The Torches

raised

and lowered signify the East and West.

In

the round altar of the Yilla Borghese (Winck. Mon. Ined. PI. 21)

the bust of

Luna appears

resting on a crescent above an aged

head, in front face, with crabs claws springing out of his fore-

head

or Oceanus,

The bust

symbol, the eight-rayed

flambeau

star,

of the Bising Sun, with his usual

in front, rests

upon an elevated

that of the Setting, looking downwards, rests upon

another lowered towards the ground.

Or Life

personified

the

The serpent winding

Zend having but one name

for both.

four

MITHRAIC TALISMANS.
times around the youth

may

59

signify the Suns annual revolution,

by a torso of Mithras found at

which the Zodiacal signs are placed between the folds

a meaning rendered evident

Arles, in

The Lion and the Raven stand

of the serpent.

for in these

priests

Lions

the inferior, Havens

rites

the superior

hence the

for the attendant

officials

were styled

themselves are often

rites

designated as Leontica and Coraciea.

The fires, the planets, and the genii presiding over them, are
number Seven a number the most sacred of all amongst the
Persians.
But of the seven, three are constantly represented in
in

an especial manner, as those most anciently adored.

three are, the Fire of the stars, that

Anaid

the Fire

is

These

the planet Venus, called

of the sun, or the Fire Mihr 1

the Fire

lightning, or the Fire Bersiov, the planet Jupiter.

of the

The worship

of the Fire Gushtasp or that of Anahid, figures as a very ancient

,

worship in the Zend books and the Shah Nameh, just as that of

number

Anaitis in a

Now

wards.

Mitra

2
,

of

Greek authors from Herodotus down-

the feminine of Mithras

one and the same goddess

or the

Morning

and Anahid are

Star, a female genius,

presiding over love, giving light, and directing the harmonious

movement
strings

of the other planets

by the sound

whereof are the solar rays.

his golden hair (Creuzer, Rel. de lAntiq.

statement

we

of her lyre, the

Apollos lyre, strung with

ii.

find the reason for the division

In

731).

this

of the Fires in

Cayluss agate into two groups, the principal one consisting of

the three most ancient, the subsidiary one of the other four.

In the oft-repeated group of Mithras sacrificing the Bull, his

piercing the throat with his dagger signifies the penetration of
the solar rays into the bosom of the earth

nature

is

licking

by which

action all

nourished; the last idea being expressed by the dog

up the blood

as

it

flows from the

wound.

The

sign

Capricorn, so often introduced, denotes the necessity of moisture

This

is

the

Winged Disk

so fre-

Persians at

worshipped only the

but had
learnt from the Assyrians the worship

quently seen upon the Assyrian cylinders

which type explains the

sun,

simile of the

Sun

of

with healing in
2
Herodotus

his wings.

(i.

of Righteousness

131) says that the

first

moon, and elements,

Venus Urania, whom they called

Mitra, the Mylitta of the Assyrians,
the Alitta or Alilat of the Arabians.

60

MITHRAIC TALISMANS.

to co-operate with

the solar influence in bringing about the

germination of the seed sown, whilst the scorpion, in

above alluded

ficant position,

Frequently this group

is

to,

depicted as enclosed by a host of the

sacred animals of Egypt, arranged

calves, ibises,

its signi-

typifies the generative heat.

by

threes, crocodiles, goats,

hawks, and vultures, standing around in attitudes

of adoration, and gazing on the operation of their supreme head,

Mithras.

Mithraic bas-reliefs cut on the faces of rocks or on stone

abound in the countries formerly the western pro-

tablets still

Eoman Empire

vinces of the

more in France, and in

many

this island

exist in

Germany,

still

they have often been disco-

vered, on the line of the Piets Wall, and the noted one at Bath.

Inasmuch

as Bel, the Semitic Sun-god,

the Druids,

of

easy to see what a ready acceptance the worship

more refined Persian equivalent would

of his
races

it is

was the great divinity

when once

introduced by the

many of them Orientals.

Though the modem Parsees,
of Herodotus, abhor

idols

Eoman

amongst Celtic

find

troops

and

colonists,

like their forefathers in the days

and representations of divine things,

yet they retain traces of the ideas above expressed in sculpture,

in their veneration for the dog,

animal.

Tavernier

still

esteemed by them a sacred

493) says of the Guebres at Surat

(i.

have another strange custom, when a person

death, to take a little dog and put

they perceive he
to the

is at

it

upon

is at

They

the point of

his last gasp, they apply the dogs

dying mans mouth, and make

When

his breast.

muzzle

bark twice when in this

it

meant to make the persons soul enter into the

which they pretend will deliver it into the hands of the

position, as if they

dog,

angel appointed to receive

die,

they carry

it

it.

Moreover,

this piece of carrion, as

it

may be

flowing blood

is

a dog happens to

God on

behalf of

though the brutes soul could derive any

advantage from their prayers after

analogy,

if

out of the town, and pray to

death.

its

Following

this

conjectured that the dog licking up the bulls

intended for the vehicle of departing

life.

The

Parsees at present expose their dead on the summit of a lofty

tower, to be devoured

monarchy

it

by the

was the rule

birds alone

to lay

but under the Sassanian

them on the ground,

to

be con-

MITHRAIC TALISMANS.
sumed by dogs, a mode
1

all

61

of funeral they endeavoured to enforce

on

conquered nations, for they viewed as sacrilege the placing

corpses in the bosom of the earth

with the sacred element, Fire.

still

more the consuming them

This idea seems above

all others

have scandalised the narrow-minded Byzantines, the historian

to

Agathias in particular expressing his indignation at the Persian

usage of casting their dead to the dogs, whatever their rank, as

in the case of the great satrap, Mermeroes, exposed naked in the
fields to

be so devoured.

If the dogs rejected the carcase, this

was looked on by the survivors

as the worst of omens,

The

sure token of the damnation of his soul.

Parsees,

and the

who with

more decency make the raven (an equally sacred creature) their
sexton and sepulchre in one, derive a similar augury from
observing which eye

attacked by the bird, the right being

is first

the sign of salvation, the left of the reverse.

There

seem

is

a talisman, which, from

initiated,

perhaps of the

a gryphon holding a wheel

tested

frequent repetition, would

Probably

it

is

of

suddenly removed from his eyes.

bound

to a pillar,

on which stands

the latter a most ancient

was in

by the appearance

A man blindfolded, with

admission.

first

hands tied behind his back,

the sun.

its

be a badge of some particular degree amongst the

to

manner

this

emblem of
was

that the candidate

imminent death when the bandage was

2

After passing victoriously through the ordeal, the neophyte

was marked in some

cannot
Johan.

now be
I.

which
The expressions of Augustine (In
conclude two things first, that the

indelible manner, the exact nature of

ascertained.

Dis. 7) lead us to

engraved stones we have been considering were given to the

candidate on the successful conclusion of his probation, as a token
of admission into the brotherhood,

between

This

its

members

and

for a

means of recognition

and, secondly, that each person, on ad-

was carrying out

to

the

a very ancient principle.

Herodotus states (i. 140) from his own
knowledge that the corpse of a Magus
could not he buried until it had been

fullest extent

attacked by some bird, or a dog

and

the same was reported of the other

Persians.

The Magi

regarded

also

the killing of a dog and a

equally criminal.
2

the

man

as

In the example given by Raspe

significant

motto,

AIKAIH2,

justly, is engraved in the field.

MITHRAIC TALISMANS.

62
mission,

and

was marked with a secret mark, stamped in his flesh,

Something of the kind has been copied by a

indelible.

certain spirit , in that

he will have

his

own image purchased with

knew that mankind were some time or another

to be redeemed by the shedding of blood.
The last expression
shows that this mark was not burnt in, but incised or tattooed
and the same conclusion may be drawn from St. Johns use of
the word yapaypa, engraving not anypa, brand-mark to express
blood, because he

the badge of servitude, which

the subjects of the Second

all

Beast having horns like a lambs, and speaking like a dragon,

were forced

to receive either in their right

palm), or upon their foreheads.

The author

hands

(i. e.

on the

of the Apocalypse

probably had the Mithraicists in view in penning this allegory,

yet

we may be

members of a secret society did

mark of membership on any conspicuous part of
Here also the same necessity meets us, as in every
certain that the

not receive the

the body.

portion of our subject, for placing the origin of all such sectarian personal

marks in India, the true fount either directly or

indirectly of all the ideas and practices of Gnosticism.

votaries of the several deities are

still

There the

distinguished

by the

proper symbol of their patron-god stamped upon their forehead,

but in a milder form, not in blood, but in the ashes of cow dung,
the powder of sandal wood, or coloured earths, daily renewed.

Inasmuch as with them an equilateral triangle with the apex

upwards

is

the symbol of Fire,

may be

it

Mithraic yapaypa was the same simple form

conjectured that the

1
.

But these Hindoo

sectarian signs will be fully discussed under the head of Masons

Marks.

The seven

stars so

more than a mere

common upon

these

gems probably have

allusion to the planets, and

may

denote the

Seven Amsliaspands, the highest order in Zoroasters celestial

God amongst the later J ews,

hierarchy, and the Seven Spirits of

whence the Christians

later

still

obtained their Septiformis

inunere as an epithet of the Spiritus Sanctus.

and attributes

are,

Ormuzd, source

of life

Their names

and creation

Bahnian,

Horapollos statement that such was the Egyptian symbol for the

been already noticed.

Moon

has

A ROMAN MITHRAS
king of the world
metals

IN HIS CHAPEL.

Ardibehesht, giver of

Sapandomad

fire

(the Gnostic Sophia),

63

Shahrivar, of the

queen of the Earth

Kordad, presiding over time and the seasons

Amerdad, over
Of these the chief are Bahman, Ardibehesht,
Shahrivar, and Sapandomad. Below these are the Izeds, twentyseven in number, presided over by Mithras, who rule the
and

trees

plants.

To each Amshaspand and

heavenly bodies and the elements.

Ized there

is

a corresponding evil spirit, his constant opponent,

or seven Arch-Devs and twenty-seven Devs.

A BOMAN MITHBAS IN HIS CHAPEL.

I

Flaminius Vacca. No. 117.

remember

there

was found in

the vineyard of Sig. Orazio Muti (where the treasure was discovered), opposite S. Yitale, an idol in marble, about 5 palms

high (3 ft.), standing erect upon a pedestal in an empty

Around him were many
chamber, with the door walled up.
little

lamps in

This had a

idol.

Under

with their nozzles towards the

terra-cotta, set
lions head,

and the

rest of the

body that of a

was a globe, whence sprang a serpent

which encompassed all the idol, and its head entered into his

man.

He had

mouth.
each,

his feet

upon the breast a key in

upon the shoulders, two pointing

his hands crossed

four wings

fastened

upwards, two downwards.

I do not consider

work, being done in a rude manner

that at the time
Sig. Orazio,

explained

it

me

meaning, saying

style

a very antique
it is

so ancient

was not yet known.

that a theologian, a Jesuit Father,

it

signified the Devil,

times of heathenism ruled over the world

his feet;

it

or perhaps

was made the good

however, told

its

the serpent which begirt

who

in the

hence the globe under

him and entered

into his

mouth, his foretelling the future with ambiguous responses* the

keys in his hands, his sovereignty over the world; the

head, the ruler of all beasts.

lions

signified his presence

This was Jeromes Pater Bro-

mius, the Roarer, a title of Bacchus,

who fought under this disguise in the

War of the Giants, as Horace describes
him

The wings

Tu cum Parentis regna per arduum

Cohors gigantum scanderet impia
Khartum retorsisti leonis
Unguibus horribilique mala.

SERAPIS.

64

Such was the version given by the aforesaid

everywhere.

I have done everything to see the idol, but Sig. Orazio

Father.

now

being

dead, his heirs do not

it

may have

sent

of

by the advice of the theologian,

It is not unlikely that

Orazio

know what has become

some

to

it

lime-kiln to cure

had been buried many and many a year.

its

it.

Sig.

dampness, for

Thus was

most

this

curious Pantheus destroyed, through the stupidity of a devil118. I

fearing, conceited bigot.

said idol, in the

with a

remember that after the

same place was found another, but in

but the rest of the body a mans

lions head,

afore-

bas-relief,

from the

downwards clad in a thin veil having the arms extended,

in each hand a torch; with two wings pointing upwards, two
downwards, from between which sprung a serpent. At his
girdle

right,

an altar with

ribbon or

scroll,

fire

from the said

extending over the

idols

mouth proceeded

fire.

SERAPIS.
The next

great family of

monuments

are those connected with

the worship of Serapis, that mysterious deity,

several forms, during the

had

first

who under

and

entirely usurped the honours of his brother Jupiter,

reduced him to the rank of a mere planetary genius.

generality of the

deities

his

and second centuries of the empire,

who

figure

Unlike the

on the Gnostic stones,

Serapis does not belong to the primitive Egyptian Mythology.

His worship was,

it

may be

Alexandria, into which

first

it

said,

only coeval with the city of

was introduced from Sinope by the

Ptolemy, in consequence of the command, and the repeated

threats, in case of neglect, of a vision.

After three years of

Ptolemy

at last obtained the statue

Scythotherius, king of Sinope

the citizens refusing to let

fruitless negotiation,

a report was spread that the god had found his

neously from the temple

harbour.

down

to

way

from
it

go,

sponta-

the Egyptian ships in the

The prevalent opinion amongst the Greeks was that it re-

presented Jupiter Dis (Aidoneus), and the figure at his side, Proserpine.

The

latter the

vision to leave in

situ.

Egyptian envoys were ordered by the

Another story was that the statue had

been introduced later, and from Seleucia, by Ptolemy

III.,

but this

SERAPIS.
on slighter authority.

rests

65

was Timotheus, an Athenian

It

Eumolpid, and hence by hereditary right royal diviner,

unknown

indicated Pontus as the abode of the

who had

divinity that had

appeared in a dream to the king, and bid him send to fetch himself

The

without telling where.

youthful,

which

tallies

but

ill

figure of the apparition

was

with the majestic maturity of the

The Helios Dionysus, a

Sinopic god (Tacitus, Hist. IV., 84).

veritable Crishna, on the reverse of Pharnaces II. s gold medal-

executed at Sinope in the next century, agrees better with

lion,

this description.

new home,

Speedily did Serapis become the great god of his

and speculations as

nature busied the ingenuity of the

to* his

philosophers of Alexandria

down to

the latest times of Paganism

every conflicting religion also endeavouring to claim him as the

grand representative of their own

Macrobius has preserved

idea.

one of the most ingenious of these materialistic interpretations

The

(Sat. I., 20).

city of Alexandria pays

worship to Serapis and

Isis

yet

all this

but offered to the Sun under that

title,

an almost

frantic

veneration they prove

is

both by their placing the

corn-measure upon his head, and accompanying his statue by the

Of these, the

figure of an animal with three heads.

the largest

is

a lions

that

which

a peaceful and fawning attitude

rises

on the right

whilst the

left

terminates in the head of a ravening wolf.

central

is

and

a dogs, in

part of the neck

All these animal

forms are connected together by the wreathed body of a serpent,

which

which

raises his

Present, because
is

head up towards the gods right hand, on

The

side this monster is placed.

its

strong and fervent.

because the

memory

lions

head

typifies the

condition between the Past and the Future

The Past

is

signified

of all things past

and utterly consumed.

The symbol

is

by the

wolfs head,

snatched away from us

of the fawning dog repre-

sents the Future, the domain of inconstant and flattering hope.

But

whom

author?

should Past, Present, and Future serve except their

His head crowned with the

calathus typifies the height

of the planet above us, and his all-powerful capaciousness, since

unto him

all

that he emits.

things earthly return, being

Moreover,

when

drawn up by the heat

Nicocreon, king of Cyprus, conF

SERAPIS.

66

which of the gods he ought

suited Serapis as to

thus responded

A god I am such as I

The

to

he held, he

starry

Heavens

show

to thee,

my head, my

trunk the Sea,

my feet,

mine ears the Air supplies.

The Suns far-darting, brilliant rays, mine eyes.
Earth forms

Hence

it is

apparent that the nature of Serapis and of the Sun

one and indivisible.

Earth,

the

or Nature, as

body

goddesss

Isis,

is

is

so universally worshipped, is either

subjected to the Sun.

Hence the

covered with continuous rows of udders, 1 to

show that the universe is maintained by the perpetual nourishment of the Earth or Nature.
All this, however,

is

hut the ingenious refinement of the Alex-

andrian Greeks, tinctured as

peculiar to the

it is

with the symbolic interpretation

New Platonism.

It is evident that the god,

his first introduction into Egypt,

Dis, or Aidoneus, the

was regarded

god of the shades.

on

as identical with

But

his

attributes

prove him to have been of Indian origin, and no other than

Tamm, the Loid of Hell, attended by his dog Cerbaru , the

Spotted, styled Trikasa, the three-headed, and his serpent
Sesha.
titles,

made
and

His name

Ser-adah

is but the Grecised form of one of Yamas

Lord of the Obsequies or sacrifices (Sradah)

to the Piri or

Manes.

Yama,

also, is the

Lord of Souls,

Judge of the Dead, another character assimilating him

which the latter came to be subsequently

the

to Serapis in the light in

regarded

a point to be treated of in

also a derivation of the

titles, Sri-pa ,

ferable one.

name

its fitting

place.

There

is

Serapis from another of Yamas

the Blood- drinker, and on some accounts a pre-

by Homers old

It is supported

tradition as

to

Ulysses mode of evoking the ghosts, and their eagerness to lap

the victims blood (Od.

xi., 35).

ra 5e

jUTjA a

XafSuv atreBeipoTO/njcra

es fiodpov pee Sat/ia [ie\aive<pes ai fiayepovTO

xf/vxcu vtt

It appears

e| EpejSou vetcvwv KarareOvricaTav.

from this that Macro-

regarded Isis and the Ephesian

Diana as one and the same; for the

bills

ancient Egyptian goddess had merely

the proper complement of a woman.

2 Entitled the
Regent of Hell.

The Gnostic Gorgon.

(Bellermanns Achamoth.)

From a

cast; actual size.

Byzantine legend for

+ Ayios

ayios kools cpaud

wcravas tols vxpurrois ev\oyr]juevos.

To face rage 67.

SERAPIS.

Yama,

67

as Sradah-deva monarch, of Patala, the infernal regions,

On

has for his consort Bhavani, here entitled Patala-devi.

earth she

is

Bhu-devi, in heaven Swar-devi.

the

Besides Cerbaru

he owns another dog, Syamu the Black one (now

we

why

see

the medieval familiar spirit, like the famous one of Cornelius

Agrippas, chose this form to appear in).

As the Judge

of Souls

he displays two countenances, the one benign, the other

Another of his

titles is

Kal-antika or Destroyer of

terrific.

Time

it

can

hardly be a mere accidental coincidence that KaXavruca should be

name given to the head-dress worn by the Egyptian priests

when officiating in later times a purple cloth covering the head
and falling down the neck, and surmounted by two plumes.

the

Kali-Bhavani, the Destructive Female Principle,

is

represented

in this her character with a head exactly agreeing with the original
of the Grecian Gorg6n, such as

and most ancient type

we

see

it

guarding the Etruscan sepulchres, as in the notable example

still

tomb of the Yolumni, Perugia. 2 Formed of a tigers head in

the first conception, it exhibits the same protruded tongue, glaring
the

huge

eyes,

Be

throat.

back

this

only in

tusks,
it

wings

in the hair,

remembered

that in the legend Perseus brings

trophy from Ethiopia

Roman

times that the

a region of Africa.

Hermes (Buddha),

is

and asps twining about the

or the farthest East

name Ethiopia became

His weapon,

too,

it

the harpe, the gift of

precisely in form the changra or elephant-

hook, an attribute borne by so

many Hindoo

divinities.

Phidias retained the original type of the Gorgon, softened

it is

true

its first creator.

till

Not to mention Faustuss pudel.

Where

it

ages at Populonia, Paros, &c. Lucian

says it was an amulet against the Evil

what could be more potent than

Queen of Hell ?
In that most ancient monument of

Eye

the face of the

Greek

art,

after the times of Praxiteles,

Sufficient explanation here

forms the centre of the

It was
ceiling of the larger chamber.
taken also for the type of several coin2

Even
down

the Medusas head, the expression of expiring volup-

tuous Beauty, does not appear

perhaps

was

confined to

why

Perse-

b.c. 660), behind Polynices

stands a female having teeth as fiercelooking as a wild beasts, and the
nails of her fingers like unto talons;

before

the

inscription

over her, they

say ,

means Ker (Fate) (Pausan. v. 19).

Her name, therefore, must have been
a foreign word, translated to Pausanias

by the custodian of the temple.

the Coffer of Cypselus (made

F 2

SERAPIS.

68

Slayer)

phoneia (Destroyer

should be assigned by the oldest

Greeks as the partner of Aidoneus, and also

why

Ulysses should

have feared,
fx 7]

Topyeirjv Kecpahriv Seiuoio

fxoL

A tdos

Trep.\peiv

tt

eXwpov

ayavr) JJep(Te(poyeia.

In the second century the syncretistic

sects that

had sprung

up in Alexandria, the very hot-bed of Gnosticism, found out in

Serapis a prophetic type of Christ as the Lord and Creator of
all, and Judge of the living and the dead.
For the response to
Nicocreon shows that the philosophers at least understood by
Serapis nothing more than the

whom

Anima Mundi,

that spirit of

universal Nature was the body, holding the doctrine of

the
One harmonious whole
Whose body Nature is, and God the

soul.

Thus at length Serapis had become merely the idea

Supreme Being, whose manifestation upon Earth was the
In

this

manner

are

we

to

understand the curious letter of Hadrian

to his friend Servianus, preserved

Those

who

who worship

style

of the
Christ.

by Yopiscus (Vita Saturnini)

Serapis are also Christians

themselves the bishops of Christ are

even those
devoted

to

The very Patriarch himself, when he comes to

Egypt, is forced by some to adore Serapis, by others to adore
him do the
Christ.
There is but one God for them all
Christians, him do the Jews, him do all the Gentiles also
Serapis.

worship.

There can be no doubt that the head of Serapis,

marked

as the face is

the

idea for the conventional portraits of the Saviour.

first

by a grave and pensive majesty, supplied

The

Jewish prejudices of the

may be
until

sure no attempt

some generations

first

converts were so powerful that

was made

after all that

to depict

had beheld

the pretended letter of Lentulus to the

his personal appearance, induces

me

incredible as

on earth had

Roman

Senate, describing

to insert a literal translation

of the chief part thereof, although its

it for

it

Nevertheless the importance so long attached to

passed away.

stamps

we

His countenance

monkish Latinity clearly

a clumsy forgery of some medieval divine

it

may

seem, a learned

man

like Grjnaeus has

yet,

been

SERAPIS.
so dazzled

by

69
1

his pious desire for its authenticity

as to persuade

himself that Lentulus, a Senator and a distinguished historian,

could have written in the exact phraseology of a Franciscan
preacher.

Lentulus, governor of the people of Jerusalem, to

the Senate and

Roman

our times, and

a Man of great virtue named Christ

by the Gentiles a Prophet of Truth,
disciples call the
Son of God raising the dead,

who is
whom his own
Jesus,

and healing

There has appeared in

People, greeting.

exists,

still

called

diseases.

man, indeed, of

lofty stature,

handsome,

having a venerable countenance, which the beholders can both

His hair verily somewhat wavy and curling,

love and fear.

somewhat brightish and resplendent in

upon

his shoulders,

flowing

its colour,

down

having a parting in the middle of the head

after the fashion of the Nazarenes.

forehead

and

flat

full of

calmness, without wrinkle or any blemish, which a slight tinge

The nose and mouth beyond

of red adorns.

a beard

full

and ruddy, of the colour of his

all

forked; his eyes quick (variis) and brilliant.

rible, &c.

The

(Grynaeus, Orthodoxia, vol.

statue of Serapis

colossal

different

metals

3
;

In reproof

but
ter-

p. 2.)

was formed out

of plates

of

and placed in a shrine

artfully joined together,

crowning the summit of an

steps

i.

Having

blame.

hair, not long,

ascended by a hundred

artificial hill

a style of temple totally different from the native Egyptian

or Grecian model, but exactly agreeing with that of the Hindoo

The popular

pagoda, as the famous one of Siva at Tanjore.

belief

was that

to profane this statue

heaven and earth to

fall into their original

Pliny justly observes, Pariunt

non traditos vultus sicut in

desideria

Homero evenR.

The wish

is

father

to the portrait of the venerated object

and the offspring is gladly accepted

by the loving soul without too closely
scrutinizing its legitimacy
is

for

Martial

right in saying
Quis

enim damnat sua vota libenter ?

larly

This statue probably suggested to

the Alexandrian Jew who wrote the
Book of Daniel the idea of the simi-

chaos

signal for

a notion bear-

composed image in Nebuchadnez-

Dream for his description must

have been penned long after the coming of Serapis from Pontus, as is
evident from the authors minute
zars

details

respecting the

constant wars

between Antiochus Epiphanes

Ptolemy Philometor, and the
intervention of the
3

would be the

The

Roman

vast interior

and
final

Senate.

was divided

into

vaulted halls, containing the Alexandrian Library.

MONUMENTS OF THE SERAPIS WORSHIP.

70

ing testimony to what was the idea this idol embodied.

Finally,

however, though his worship had been tolerated long after that
of the other gods of

was broken

Egypt was

abolished, this wonderful colossus

by that perpetual enemy

to pieces

of peace

and

virtue the Archbishop Theophilus, in the reign of Theodosius.

Like that of Mithras, the worship of Serapis was widely

Ammian remarks

diffused in the West.

king of the Alamanni, had

learnt,

when

Mederich,

(xvi. 12) that

a hostage in Gaul, certain

Greek mysteries, and had in consequence changed the name of

Agenarich into Serajpio.

his son

MONUMENTS OF THE SEBAPIS WOBSHIP.

Innumerable are the

them

statues, bas-reliefs,

in the finest style of

Roman

and gems, many of

connected with the wor-

art,

ship of Serapis, a thing to be expected with regard to a divinity

whose idea involved the two most powerful principles that

actuate the conduct of mankind the love of riches and the fear

of death.

For the god of the subterranean world

treasures

its

and thus we find an

Jovi Custodi
Pluto

is also

et

genio thesaurorum (Winck. P. G. p. 83).

known by

Of the gems serving

the title of Jupiter Stygius.

for talismans, very

Serapis with the legend, either in

eeoc cAPAnic,
he

is

lord also of

is

altar dedicated to Pluto as

or

Serapis EIC

common

is

the bust of

full or abbreviated,

EfC

e ..C., there is but one God, and

EOC, The One Living God.

ZWN

Often the intention of the amulet

is

CAPAHIC TON <t>ONON,

Baffle

NIKA

the Evil Eye,

expressed, as

Serapis or in the singular example given

!

by

Caylus, where

the god stands accompanied by Venus, and the legend

XPHMATIGMON, By

divine command, testifies

KATA

that this

type had been engraved in consequence of a vision or oracular

intimation.

Around

his bust, on a jasper in the former

What was understood by the name

most fully set forth in

EIC zevc
Raspes stone, No. 1490
CAPAniC AriON ONOMA CABAW 4>WC
Serapis

is

ANATOAH XWN,
Serapis,

The

Holy Name,

Praun

sole Jupiter,

Glory,

the Day-Spring, the Earth.

Light,

To face rage 70

MONUMENT'S OF THE SERAPIS WORSHIP.

we

Cabinet (convincing attestation of bis supremacy),

prayer

<!>YAACCE AIA,

that

position,

of

when

had pictured Heaven

by innumerable

deities,

was beginning

alas

find the
!

merely

the old liberal Western mythology,

as a well ordered

monarchy, peopled

each having his proper and independent

to give place to the

which taught

Syria,

now,

Such invocations bear the unmistake-

a benignant horoscope.
able stamp of the age

Protect Jupiter,

71

particular nation or sect

the

that

was the

and condemned those of

gloomy superstitions

tutelary divinity of

sole

each

god of heaven and earth,

other races as mere deceivers and

all

evil spirits.

There

are,

however,

many gems,

fine

both in material and

workmanship, that give us the primitive Egyptian gods exactly

as they appear in the

the purely

the times

most ancient monuments, but engraved in

Roman manner. Most of these must

of Hadrian, who zealously strove to

forms of that old religion, whose

be referred to
reanimate the

had long since passed

spirit

away, and under whose patronage the creed of the Pharaohs

moment with a bright, but factitious lustre, a

phenomenon often preceding the final extinction of a long
blazed up for a

established religion.

sard in

my

collection,

representing Serapis seated with his attributes,

as

Macrobius

To

this period belongs

beautiful

had seen him, whilst before him

stands Isis holding in one

the sistrum, in the other a wheat-sheaf, with the legend

i

Immaculate

CSC AFNH>

is

our lady

applied afterwards to that personage

titles,

symbols,

rites,

new

the very terms

who succeeded

to

her form,

and ceremonies, even with less variation than

Thus her devotees

in the interchange above alluded to.

into the

Isis,

hand

H KYPIA

carried

priesthood the former badges of their profession,

the obligation to celibacy, the tonsure, and the surplice, omitting

unfortunately the frequent ablutions prescribed

creed.

The

sacred image

Juvenal laughed at

it (vi.

still

moves

in

by the ancient
as when

procession

530)

1
The Black Virgins, so highly
reverenced in certain French cathedrals during the long night of the

Middle Ages, proved, when at last

examined critically, basalt figures of
Isis.

ALEXANDRIAN AND SYRIAN.

GNOSTICISM,

72

grege linigero circmndatus et grege calvo.

Escorted

Her proper
Isi,

title,

by the tonsured

surpliced train.

Domina, the exact translation of the Sanscrit

a singular permutation, the flower

ancient
is

modem Madonna
home by each, the

survives, with slight change, in the

emblem

of the

Sun and

fecundity,

now renamed

lotus,

the

The

interpreted as significant of the opposite quality.

By

1
.

lily,

tink-

ling sistrum, a sound so well pleasing to the Egyptian goddess,

is

replaced

The

by

that

most hideous of noises the clattering

religious usages,

where

forms as essential an element as of

it

yore in early Celtic Christianity,

Godhead

actual type of the

present form was

Indian,

Again,

Chinese.

Buddha

unknown

and the

is

bell.

however, came directly from the Buddhist

latter instrument,

first

to the

when the holy bell was the

new converts. The bell in its

to the ancients

real

its

bell-founders were

relic- worship (for a

normal shape

is

Buddhist

the

fragment of the bone of a

indispensable in the founding of a Dagobah or temple

,

of that faith) seems from the third centuiy to

have been virtually

the prevalent form of Christianity in the East.

It is astonishing

how much

of the Egyptian and the second-

hand Indian symbolism passed over into the usages of following

Thus the high cap and hooked staff of the god became
times.
the bishops mitre and crosier ; the term Nun

is

purely Egyptian,

and bore its present meaning; the erect oval, symbol of the
Female Principle of Nature, became the Yesica Piscis, and a
frame for divine things the Crux Ansata, testifying the union
;

Female Principle in the most obvious manner,

and denoting fecundity and abundance, as borne in the gods
hand, is transformed, by a simple inversion, into the Orb surmounted by the Cross, and the ensign of royalty.
of the Male and

GNOSTICISM,

ALEXANDRIAN AND SYRIAN.

The grand development of the old Egyptian

new phase

is

doctrines in a

most conspicuous in that very extensive class of

Mater-Domina.

AGATfiODiEMON TALISMANS.

73

engraved stones popularly termed Abraxas, Basilidan, or Gnostic

gems, almost the sole productions of the expiring Glyptic art in
the last centuries of the Western Empire.

Contrary to the re-

ceived notion, a careful study of their numerous subdivisions has

convinced

me

number present

that but a small portion of their

any trace of Christian doctrines, but rather that they are the
fruit of notions that

had flourished long before the

An

of Christianity.

important

first

dawn

connected with the

portion

primitive Egyptian mythology have more connexion with magic

and seeing that their employment claims a much higher antiquity than the next grand division,
the genuine Abraxas stones, the date of whose origin is exactly
known, this subject will be best approached by our first considering the talismans which present the Agathodeemon, Chnuphis, or

and medicine than with religion

Chneph, formerly* called Dracontiae, and erroneously attributed

to the Ophites, a semi-Christian sect, as their first inventors.

AGA TH 0D2EM0N TALISMANS.

The Agathodaemon, or good genius, whose very title furnishes
why he was chosen to figure on a talisman designed to

the reason

protect the wearer from disease and mischance, is depicted as a

huge serpent having the head of a

twelve rays, indicating that

gold ,

for

is

XNOYMIC,

which Salmasius (De An.

as all golden.

XNOYM,

daemon to be the

good,

literal

and

it is still

age,

title

its

name,

XNOYBIC,

to the

style

engraved with

was as great a

modern Greeks.

sometimes found,

!C, spirit,

worked

Roman Egyptian

Diocletians

seven or

XOA-

Jablonsky, however, derives the

of

or

and so makes Agatho-

rendering of the name. 1

I have seen a large sard,

in the coarse

by

Clin.) understands as forms of the Coptic

the sound of the letter

Hence Salmasius explains another

name from

accompanied by

XNOY<S>!C,

stumbling-block to the ancient as

XNOYB1C,

lion surrounded

but one form of the idea of the

is

This figure always

Sun-god.

variously spelt as

XNOYB

he

Over the seven

two imperial busts regardant, and

on the reverse the Chnuphis-serpent,
with the legend in Roman letters,

AGATHODiEMON TALISMANS.

74

rays of the lions crown, and on the point of each, stands a vowel

Greek alphabet

of the seven in the

AH lOYbJ,

expressing the

seven heavens, a notion on which more shall be given in detail

in

Almost invariably the back of such a gem

place.

its fitting

bears a peculiar symbol like the letter

or

thrice repeated,

and traversed by a bar through their middle, the purport of which

cannot be more than conjectured.

That

type of the good

this

genius was not merely pre-Christian, but also of the extremest

antiquity in
of

it

its

application as an amulet, appears from the notice

by Galen (De Simp. Med.

that a virtue of this kind

b. ix.).

Some indeed

assert

inherent in certain stones, such as

possessed by the Green Jasper, which benefits the

is in reality

chest and

is

mouth

of the stomach, if tied

set the stone in a ring,

head crowned with

upon them.

and engrave upon

it

Some indeed

a serpent with his

rays, according as is prescribed

by King

Of

have had

Nechepsos in his thirteenth book.

this material I

ample experience, having made a necklace out of such stones, and

hung it round the patients neck, descending low enough for the
stones to touch the

mouth

of the stomach,

and they proved

to

be

of no less benefit thus than if they had been engraved in the

manner

down by King Nechepsos.

laid

This treatise of Ne-

chepsos must have been a regular manual for the use of magicians,
for

Ausonius says,
Quique magos docuit mysteria vana Nechepsi

Nechepsi, founder of vain magics art

and doubtless the source of the notions concerning sigils preserved to us only in the medieval lapidaria. Pliny (vii. 50)
quotes him with Petosiris as an astrological authority, according

the

agathodaemon,

known

to

me

of such

sole

instance

an amulet with

which Jamblichus solved

all

tions of Porphyrius (Jam.

the ques-

De

Myst.
In classical Greek the original
Cneph becomes Canopus, and the
Canopic Vase is often figured with

a Latin inscription.

II.).

The Cynocepkalus, or Baboon, the

sacred animal of Hermes or Thoth, the
Scribe of the Gods, appears performing his devotions in front of a column
crowned by a triangle, and covered

two serpents as heraldic supporters.

over with letters evidently representing those Pillars of Hermes, out of

;

But of the centuries so fruitful in the

Chnuphis serpent intagli, no more Canopic Vases are seen on the gems.

*
to

AGATHODiEMON TALISMANS.

75

whose rule of the Tetartemorion (derived from the place of

human life in the

may be observed, and

three signs, or trine), the possible extent of

Here

region of Italy was 124 years.

it

the fact will be of service in a subsequent inquiry, that Pliny

(xxx. 2) mentions a second science of magic, more recent

many thousand

by

years than Zoroasters, founded by the Jews

Moses, Jannes, and Jotapes.

The

first

of the trio

may have

been the Talmudist, whose secret volume Juvenal alludes

to,

Tradidit arcano qusecunque volumine Moses/

From

the same author

we

find that race retaining their ancient

reputation for deep skill in interpreting dreams

wiser than Daniel, they

now produced them

nay

more,

to order

Qualiacunque voles Judsei somnia vendunt.

t

But

The Jew

for

money sends what dreams you

to return to the type

mony as to

its

we

are considering, a primitive testi-

nature and signification

preserved by Eusebius

(i.

7).

will.

The

violence, never dies naturally,

is

afforded

by the

tradition

by
whence the Phoenicians have
serpent, unless injured

named it the good genius. Similarly the Egyptians have called

him Chneph, and given him a hawks head, on account of the
special swiftness of that bird. The priest at Epeae, entitled the
Head-Interpreter of Sacred Things, and Scribe, has thus explained the meaning of the allegory

The most divine nature

of all was one serpent, bearing the face of a hawk, and also most
delightful in aspect

for

when he opened

his eyes,

the places of his native region with light, but

them, darkness immediately ensued.

Our

he

filled all

when he

closed

serpent on the gems,

however, does not appear invested with a hawks head, but

always with a

lions

to relate to the

hawks or

for

which reason

this legend

seems rather

Abraxas figure sometimes represented with a

lions head, instead of a cocks, his

customary attribute.

The idea is more fully expressed in the design occasionally to be

met with, the lion-headed man, or Mithraic priest, grasping a
wand entwined with a serpent whose radiated head is directed
towards his eyes, seeming to imbibe their radiance. The intention

is

AGATHODiEMON TALISMANS.

76

by the Chaldee legend so frequently annexed,

the Eternal Sun. This title I have seen

clearly denoted

CMC 6IAAM,

in a single instance (Marl. Coll.) applied to the usual type of Sol,

as he appears

To return

when bearing
to the

his

Roman

style of Sol Invictus Comes.

supposed virtues of this amulet (which

always cut in Plasma

1
,

is

the J asper par excellence of the ancients,

or in calcedony, tinged with a slight shade of green), the astrologer

XNOYMIC

Hephasstion states that

three chief stars in Cancer

breast of Leo, and therefore its influence

eases of the chest in man.

one of the Decani or

is

and another says

In

fact

it is

placed in the

good against

is

all dis-

we find the prayer 4>YAACC

CTOMAXON riPOKAOY engraved on the back of a

YTIH

C'hnuphis gem, in conformity to this belief.

Again,

many such

present a long and varying formula in Coptic, but ending in the

title,

more or

or T1

AH KTA,

less

changed in the spelling, of

Beater or

the evil and rebellious spirits

riFANTOPH KTA

of the Giants

Mocker

the ancient

that

fable of the

is,

of

Mar

of

the Giants against Jove being interpreted according to the

Ahriman and

Zoroastrian creed of the contest of

against Ormuzd, the

his angels

Power of Good.

The symbol already

noticed, the triple

S upon

a bar,

must

have been an essential part of a Chnuphis amulet, seeing that

always occupies the reverse.

What

purpose, has never been explained

me

that

it

may have been

alphabet, to one of

now

am more

which

represents, and

it

it

what

it

its

formerly, however, struck

a letter of the Assyrian cuneiform

it

bears a strong resemblance.

But

inclined to suspect that this device has the same

origin as the seipent-entwined club of Esculapius, itself so hard

to account for.

spiral

In

many examples

SSS

the

take the form of a

winding thrice around the rod in their middle.

medical potency also ascribed to the latter symbol of

The

itself points

out an analogy in signification to the distinctive attribute of the

god of the healing

art.

the fourth century,

it

Thus in the age

of Marcellus Empiricus,

had obtained a place in the pharmacopeia

(probably in accordance with Xechepsos rule not fully trans-

Green calcedony.

Keep

in health Proclus chest

ABRAXAS GEMS, PROPERLY SO CALLED.

recommends the physician

cribed by Galen), for he

on a cerulean jasper, 1 and hang

this sigil

it

77

engrave

to

round the neck

any one suffering from pleurisy, adding, You will obtain

of

Whether

marvellous results.

promise be true or not,

this

marvellous has been the vitality of the symbol

double

thus traversed by a bar,

it

for,

reduced to a

became a favourite device in

the times of chivalry, being received as the rebus of the

Fermesse

(SS

fenm.es)

is,

the

emblem

of constancy.

be found the true origin of the

in the collar of the Garter, formerly styled the Collar of

then in this Gnostic

SS

that

word
Here

sigil is to

S3, rather than in the popular explanation that the letters are
initials of Edward IY.s motto Souverayne, a prince

but the

by a whole century

posterior

to the institution of the Order

and

its insignia.

ABBAXAS GEMS PBOPEBLY SO CALLED

,

2
.

Clemens Alexandrinus lived in the same city and same age as

the reputed founder of the Abraxas religion. For

Basilides,

some years of that period they were contemporaries, and

more

Basilides,

it is

Clemens was personally acquainted with

than probable that

he being a very remarkable personage of his times.

Hence his testimony to the character of his philosophy deserves

more reliance than that of later writers and at the same time he
passes a more judicious as well as a more favourable judgment
upon its character. He describes his religion as consisting in a
;

perpetual attention to the soul, and an intercourse with the Heitj^

Again he

as the fount of universal love.

of two parts; the

creed consists
things,

and considers what

without

which nothing

are that

first

things

human

sistent

with his nature

as to

is

the First Cause, through which

made

what

of

the

is

The

man, what

other part extends to

is

consistent or incon-

what he must do and

The sapphirine calcedony

pents proper vehicle

observed,

The Basilidan

all, and
what constitution the things
pervade or include each other; what forces exist in

is

nature, and whereunto they tend.

has,

busies itself with divine

the ser-

being, as just

green species

in

its

suffer.

In this

various shades.
2 For much
of this chapter I
debted to Bellermann.

am

in-

ABRAXAS GEMS, PROPERLY SO CALLED.

78

department

lie

investigates virtue and vice,

and what

is evil,

indifferent.

is

In short

what

is

we have

The amiable

but exact description of a Buddhist missionary.

visionary Clemens, whose

own

Christianity

good, what

here a brief

was but grafted upon

the congenial stock of his original Platonism, saw nothing to

blame in the transcendental speculations of Basilides.

eyes he was not a heretic,

i. e.

trines of the Christian Church, but a

who sought

In his

an innovator as regards the doc-

mere theosophic philosopher,

to express ancient truths

haps to combine them with the new

under new forms, and per-

faith,

the truth of which he

could admit without necessarily renouncing the old

exactly as

is

the case with the learned Hindoos of our day.

Far

different is the picture of

him drawn by the pen

of bigoted

orthodoxy in the following century, after his theories had been

taken up and exaggerated to a monstrous precision by the swarms
of semi-Christian sects that sprang

for

up

in the very

bosom of the

These notices are subjoined in their chronological order,

Church.

they give in a few words the main features of his system.

Tertullian (Prescript.) writes

After

this Basilides the heretic

He asserted that there is a supreme God, by name

Mind was created, whom the Greeks call
whom
Abraxas, by
Nous From her emanated the Word from the Word, Pro-

broke

loose.

vidence

from Providence, Virtue and Wisdom; from these two

again, Virtues, Principalities, and

infinite productions

365 heavens were created.

and those that made

Jews,

whom

Powers were made; thence

and emissions of angels.

this world,

he denies

to

he

sets last of all the

god of the

be God himself, affirming that he

the Sun-god, or Mithras, appears from Jerome

who

these angels

angels, indeed,

is

but

That the name Abraxas properly referred

one of the angels.

Basilides,

By

Amongst the lowest

called

(Amos

to

III.) as

Almighty God by the portentous name of

Abraxas, and says that the same word, according to the Greek
numerals, and the

sum

the circle of the sun,

of his annual revolutions, are contained in

whom

the heathen, taking the same sum,

but expressed in different numerical letters, call Mithras,

whom

and

the simple Iberians worship under the names of Balsamus

Balsamus

is

a corruption of Bal-samen, the Lord of Heaven.

ABRAXAS GEMS, PROPERLY SO CALLED.

79

Lord of heaven), and Barbelus (Son of the Lord). This

Basilides precalculation is thus explained by Augustine

(the

is 365, the number of the days in

Hence he used to glorify a Holy Name, as it were,
the word Abraxas, the letters in which name, according

tended the number of heavens

that

is,

the year.

Greek mode of computation, make up that number.

The system of emanations, as it was elaborated by Yalentinus,

to the

has been already considered

tion of the

here to repeat that the

suffice it

mythology each manifesta-

entire theory is Hindoo, for in their

One Supreme, regarded by the vulgar

as a distinct

deity, has a female partner, the exact counterpart of himself,

through whom, as an instrument, he exerts his power; hence

To find out a
making up a name is the
grand science of the Kabala, examples of which have been adduced
above. Although this science is commonly supposed to be pecu-

this female is called his Durga, or active Virtue?

mystery in the value of the

liar to the

letters

Jewish Talmudists, there

no doubt that very unin-

is

ventive nation borrowed the idea from a foreign source, and that,
the Chaldeans, the founders of the magic

mode

instance extant of such a

Number

Johns

of the Beast,

or

weapon

in

their estimation

doubt

it

this has

effective

the Pope, after the

equivalents

which, as numerals, make up the

little

Although

against

its

sum

The earliest
name is St.

Newton with an

666.

supplied good Protestants like Bishop

ber has been worked out into

art.

of expressing a

num-

AATE NOS, letters

!

required, yet there can be

was actually intended

to designate

some arch-

heretic of the times, then peculiarly obnoxious to the author of

the vision.

But the

titles

Iao and Abraxas and several others,

,

instead of being recent Gnostic figments were indeed holy names,

borrowed from the most ancient formulae of the East. Pliny

must allude to them when he mentions the virtues ascribed by
the

Magi

Moon

to amethysts

names, one

engraved with the names of the Sun and

certain from the nationality of his

may be

authorities, not expressed in either the

Greek^or Latin tongue.

In the Eternal Sun, the Abraxas, the Adonai, of these
1

An

evident allusion to the primary

meaning of the word.

2
I

A term actually found in the fore-

going

list

of Emanations.

ABRAXAS GEMS, PROPEKLY SO CALLED.

80

gems we recognise the very amulets ridiculed by the philosophic

Pliny.

The

later Greeks,

upon the axiom

same thing are equal

many

365, in

to

that things equal to the

one another, found the holy number,

sacred names, and thus established the identity

Thus the same sum

in the name
is
and
The
last word has
ABPAiAX.
XP6IZTOZ, M6I0PAS,
also the great recommendation of meaning in Coptic Holyof the several personages with one another.

obtained by adding up the numeral

Name,
was

as

Bellermann has clearly established.

also detected in other

Heliodorus (iEthiop.

indicates the blue (Nila)

the father and creator of

It is

now

NEIAOZ,

the river, 1 the

though

in fact the

name merely

colour of his waters

entitled Horus

Lower Egypt.
doctrine, has been assigned to Basilides

and with good grounds,

it

time to consider that figure the invention of which,

embodiment of his

himself

for instance,

in

22) finds

ix.

This same value

sacred appellations;

oldest of the Egyptian gods

as the

letters

for it is certain that it is not

be found on any monument executed in a style anterior to his

to

times, the beginning of the first century.

name

has given a

to the entire family, is the

This

reads on the gems almost invariably, Abrasax.

it

sense of this

been
365

stated.

aeons, or

bracing

all

title,

and

In the

its

which

figure,

god Abraxas ; 3

or, as

The Coptic

numerical value in Greek, have already

latter point of

view

it

also expressed 4 the

emanations of the First Great Cause, which, em-

within

itself, is

therefore styled the Pleroma

an idea

name containing the collective number

aptly embodied
To show this, the god is a Pantheus or
its components.
combination of many attributes, expressing the amalgamation
in a

several ideas into one and the same form.

He

is

of
a

of

depicted with

the head of a cock, sacred to Phoebus, or of a lion, symbol of

Mithras

his body,

In Nilo cujus

human, clad

e,qua mari

sirni-

says Pliny (35, 36), speaking of

a painting by Nealces, of a naval fight

lis,

upon
2

soil

3
The Latin writers, to suit the
genius of their tongue, thus transposed
the final letters.

that river.

Which was

in a cuirass, indicates his guar-

created

he brought down.

by the

alluvial

cise

And

probably suggested the preof them.

number

;;

THE GOD ABRAXAS, HOW FIGURED.

dian power

2
his legs are the asps, types of the

;*

81

Agathodsemon

in his right he wields the scourge, the Egyptian badge of soveusually emblazoned with some

reignty, on the left a shield,

mystic word, which, like his cuirass, denotes his perpetual warfare

On the talisman is always

AH, with his titles, ABPAXAZ and

with the powers of darkness.

engraved his proper name,

ZABAX20,

often accompanied

by

invocations, as,

CMG

1-

AAM, Eternal Sun; ABAANA0ABAA, Thou art our

Father; AAONAI, The Lord. In this design other rela3

tions with ancient ideas of the sun-god are readily to be dis-

Thus Phoebus,

covered.

with a whip

as the

god of day,

is

similarly furnished

and the serpent symbolized the suns winding

course through the zodiac.

THE GOD ABRAXAS HOW FIGURED ACCORDING

TO THE FATHERS.
,

That the Pantheus upon our gems was actually intended

symbolize the nature of the deity styled Abraxas
blished

by

the indirect evidence of

notices that the Basilidans gave

tended angels.

many

names

writers.

Irenaeus (23)

to their

images of pre-

Tertullian (Apol. 16) laughing at the god of the

heretics as biforme

and beast, goes on

numen, 4 that

to say, they

is,

a composite figure of man

have taken unto themselves gods

with wings, or with the heads of dogs, or of

the legs

lions, or serpents from

downwards , an evident allusion to the Mithraic, the

Egyptian types so common on these talismans, and, in his

expressions, to our serpent-legged monster.
stating that Basilides asserted that the

Being

to

is also esta-

last

Epiphanius, after

Supreme Force, the Primal

out of whom proceeded Mind, Intelligence, Providence,

was called Abrasax, proceeds to describe

Strength, and Wisdom

1
He is a Virtue Militant compare
the simile of putting on the whole
armour of God.
2 On the coffer of Cypselus Boreas
:

was figured with serpents

for legs

to

indicate, perhaps, his swiftness.

3

Adonai

is

the Sun
hence Adonis, or Thammuz, the sun at the winter solstice.
4 In allusion
to the serpent-legs
;

Biformes being a classical synonym

the Giants anguigense them-

for

selves.

the Syrian epithet of

THE NAME

82

how

that idea

was embodied by

IAO.

this heresiarch.

Having taken
them into a

their vain speculations he and his sect have converted

peculiar and definite form as a foundation for their

respect to their Kavlacav,

what person

not laugh at their converting a

expressing their idol
cipalities

own

of understanding

Hebrew word

at their figures

into a bodily shape

at their personified Prin-

sow

minds of the ignorant

error in the

dissemination of their disgraceful and lying trade.

ceeding to the analysis of the type

spirit of deceit,

ignorant into

many

deceived Eve.

been invented,
that the player

Then, pro-

he exclaims, it

itself,

by

for the

is

which, like the playing upon a pipe, leads the

an imitation of the

sins against the truth.

serpent ,

through

Yea, even

whom the

Evil

his legs

makes

mankind.

in blowing his flute.

are

One spake and

For after the pattern of that form has the

for the deceiving of

flute

Observe the figure

Hoes he not bend

himself up and down, to the right and to the

phemy

would

in a word, at their fondness for images f whilst

these fancies they

them ?

erroneous

Further on he adds, with

idolatrous and fictitious doctrines.

left,

like unto

These forms hath the Devil used to manifest his blasagainst things heavenly,

to

destroy with destruction

things upon earth, to encompass the world, capturing right and

left

such as lend an ear to his seductions.

THE NAME IAO

Having already shown the identity of Abraxas with Mithras,

as syllables of the same numerical value, if we examine the exact
meaning of the name Iao we shall find this also but a synonym
for the latter deity.

Macrobius (Book

I.) records, that

Apollo of

Claros being consulted as to which of the gods the one called

Ictoe

was

to be regarded, delivered the following oracle

The joyous rites ye have learnt to none disclose

Falsehood small wit, weak understanding, shows
Regard Iaos as supreme above,
In winter, Pluto in springs opening, Jove
Phoebus through blazing summer rules the day,
Whilst autumn owns the mild Iaos sway.
;

Here we

find Iao explained as one of the

names

of the

Supreme

THE NAME

Being whose physical representative

who

83

IAO.

Again,

the sun.

is

have Dionysus (Bacchus) added to the

Orpheus,

list

we

synonyms by

of

sings
1

Jove, Pluto, Phoebus, Bacchus, all are one.

Such a recognition of the grand principle of Hinduism that all

the different deities are but names for the different attributes of

One

the

is

expressed on a curious talisman, formerly in the

Herz Collection, allusive also

typified

by the Sun-god.

to the tri-une nature of the Creator

It is a /tmr-shaped piece of basalt,

Ammon

engraved on one side with seated figures of

and Ra, or

Phre (the Greek Zeus and Helios), and, standing erect between,

On

the sacred Asp.

Eis Bair,

the other side

eis

A deep,

One

the invocation

pua tcov /3 i a,

^aipe Ilarep Koapov,

is

X aiP e

eis Se A^capi.

Tpipop<pe 0eos

Bait, one Athor, one their power, Achori.

Hail father of the world, hail triformed god

Concerning the three

tion of their titles.

that the

Hawk

intelligent soul.

As

figures, a

to the

word

is

necessary in explana-

hawk-headed Ra, Horapollo

states

stands for the Supreme Intelligence, or the

The hawk was

called in the

Baieth from Bai, the soul, and Eth, the heart

,

Egyptian language

which organ they

considered the seat or the inclosure of the soul.

sufficient

explanation this of the shape given to the talisman.

Achoreus

the virtuous priest-councillor of the last Ptolemy in Lucan,

derives his

Iao

is

name from the sacred

serpent.

We

have seen that

but an epithet of the Sun in his autumnal quarter.

In

the philosophical expositions of the ancient mythology the latter

was

identical with Bacchus.

We

need only refer

to Virgils

well-known apostrophe
Vos O clarissima mundi
Lumina, labentem qui coelo ducitis annum
!
Liber et alma Ceres

Eis Zeus, ets ASrjs, eis HAios, eis

A lovvaos. An

Eis Zeus, eis Abr)S, eis

HA,ios

e<rn

oracle quoted by Julian

substitutes Serapis for the last

2 spams

One Jove, one Sun, one Pluto,

is

Serapis.

G 2

THE NAME

84

:
;

1A0.

where Bacchus and Ceres stand for Osiris and Isis, the Sun and
Moon. Hence Bacchus often is represented with horns.
Accedant capiti cornua, Bacchus

eris,

For in Hebrew a radiated and a

homed head is signified by the same word. Hence, when
Moses came down from the Mount comuta fuit facies ejus,
says Sappho to Phaon.

according to the Vulgate

and in virtue of

this mistranslation

hath the Lawgiver ever been graced with those appendages in

Catholic iconology.

In this

title

undoubtedly

the origin of the persuasion of

lies

the ancients that the Jewish Jehovah

Greek

letters

Bacchus

by

AO

was

sound expressed in

no other than the Egyptian

by the golden vines

a notion supported, in their view,

that formed the sole visible decoration of the Temple, the blow-

new moon, and the custom of holding the Feast of Tabernacles in huts made out of leafy boughs,
and accompanied with many of the ceremonies used at the Greek
ing up the trumpets at the

Dionysia.

This opinion as to the real origin of the Jewish wor-

mentioned by Tacitus (Hist.

v. 5) as the prevalent one

amongst the learned of his day, although he does not agree in it

ship

is

albeit his dissent is

grounded solely on the

fact that the

and morose character of the Jewish religion seemed

Diod. Sic.

(i.

94) records that the

Godhead was named by Moses IAH,

and hence came the word Jovis. Clem.

gloomy

to disprove

Supreme Being by the seven Greek

IEHnOTA; which last suffi-

vowels,
j

ciently explains their so frequent oc-

currence upon

Alex, says, the Tetragrammaton, the

under

talismans

the

mystic Name,

pronounced IAOT,
that is and shall be.

consideration.

is

meaning, He
Theodoret states that the four letters
of the Holy Name were pronounced
by the Samaritans IABE ( Jav) by
the Jews, IAH. Jerome (Psalm viii.),
The Name of the Lord amongst the
Hebrews is of four letters, Jod, He,
Yau, He which is properly the name
of God, and may be read as IAHO
( Jdho ), and is held by the Jews for
The author of the treaineffable.

On

Interpretation

says,

the

Egyptians express the name of the

Name was evidently derived

by the Egyptians (from whom the
Jews borrowed it) from the Hin doo
Ineffable

AUM,

itself,

like

certain,

however

that the

title

OM, or

AW, triliteral.
difficult to

It is

explain,

names of the chief Egyptian

deities are Sanscrit

entire idea of the

doctrine concerning the

tise

The

as Isis, Mistress

Serapis, Sri-pa Nilus, Blue-water, &c.

2 Quia sacerdotes eorum tibia tymj

panisque

concinebant,

ciebantur, vitisque
perta.

hedera

aurea templo

vinre-

THE NAME
its

relationship with the rites of the

IAO.

85

merry god of wine the only

;

which the Homans popularly recognised Bacchus.

But the ancient theory has found supporters in modern times
notably in the learned Dr. Stukeley, the rector of St. George
the Martyr he having, without any scandal to his own by no
character in

means

advanced in an elaborate

strait-laced generation,

such a theory; which puts to shame the boldest

treatise

flights of the

Essayists and Reviewers, or even the interpretations of the indis-

creet Apostle to the Zooloos.

port the

Roman

scandal, the

Feast of Purim and the

drunk as their means

fall

afford

1
.

Ludicrously enough

German Jews
of Haman by
Whether the

as

celebrate

sup-

if to
still

the

getting as royally

result of such a con-

nexion or not, the practices of some amongst the later Gnostics

appear derived from the Bacchic mysteries, curiously modified by
Thus, they kept a tame serpent in a

Christian doctrine.
or sacred ark,

cista ,

and when celebrating their mysteries piled loaves

on a table before

it,

and then invoked the serpent to come

forth.

he would come

forth,

Whereupon, opening of himself the

mount upon the

table,

ark,

and twine around the

loaves,

which they

then broke in pieces and distributed amongst the worshippers,

calling

the

this

Perfect Sacrifice, and their

Eucharist

(Epiphan. Hseres. xxxvii.).

The
a

titles of

much

ideas

Iao often occur, cut by a later hand, on gems of

whose subjects are analogous

better date, but

embodied in

this deity,

Gorgons head, and Sol in his

that has

come under

The Moon

my

to the

such as the Sphinx, the Lion, the

car.

But the most interesting type

notice, as unmistakeably pointing out

to the Egyptians, as

of the Moon-god, or Deus Lunus, he

was of the
masculine gender, and designated by
the phonetic name A ah or Ioh. Thoth
was sometimes identified with it hence
his emblem the Ibis, accompanied
with the Crescent, have the legend
Ioh because, says Plutarch, Mercury accompanies the Moon around the

has the face of a man crowned by the

crescent which supports the solar disk,
sometimes topped by a double plume.
Hence came the Greek notion
mentioned by Plutarch : the Egyp-

to the present Orientals,

Earth, as Hercules does the Sun.

When Thoth (Tat) appears as Mercury,

he has the head of an ibis and

but in his character

holds the tablet

tians call the

Moon

the World, and say it

is

the

Mother of

of both sexes

and similarly Spartian, in his Life of

Caracalla, the Moon, in a mystic
sense called by the Egyptians male
and female.

THE NAME

86

the true deity understood

IAO.

by the name Abraxas,

Bosanquet Collection, lately communicated

On

ness of the owner.

we

this

is

gem

me by

to

in the

the kind-

behold the god Abraxas, with

head of cock, cuirassed body, and serpent

brandishing his

legs,

whip, and mounted in the four-horse car of Sol, in the exact

of

attitude

address

In the exergue the

usual occupant, Phoebus.

its

Glory unto thee

CABAU),

cartouche formed by a coiled asp

name

write the ineffable

Aum the

on the reverse, in a

precisely
titles

as the Hindoos

ABPACAE.

IAU)

Plere, however, before dismissing the subject, it is necessary

to notice the strange theory of Matter laid

down

in his

Histoire

Critique du Gnosticisme, based upon a statement of Origen (to

be hereafter considered), that Iao, Adonai, Sabaoth, were names

of the genii of the moon, sun, and planets

beings far inferior in

rank, and even antagonistic, to Abraxas, the representative of

Hence Matter explains the waroffice of scaring away

expressed by his name merely placed in a

the Supreme Creator himself.

god as expressing his

like attitude of the

the demon Iao,

who

is

But, resting on

part of the picture that denotes his inferiority.

the authority of the

monuments themselves,

I have no hesitation

whatever, as far as they are concerned, in altogether rejecting

such an exposition of their meaning.

The

doctrine, if ever held,

must have been the figment of some recent sect, setting itself
above all Jewish or Magian traditions 1 and certainly never that
,

by the numerous body who engraved and wore the

talismans that have come down to us in such abundance.
The
inscriptions upon these place it out of doubt that Abraxas,
Adonai, Sabao, are but synonyms or titles of Iao, the deity
professed

actually represented

by the

figure itself.

Thus,

we

find the

prayer on an amulet, Iao, Abraxas, Adonai, Holy Name, Holy

Powers, defend Vibia Paulina from every evil

same names perpetually recur

by the

epithets

CMC
1

The

!AAM,

object indeed of the Valen-

they exalted their

new-imported Tetrad by placing

tinians is obvious

own

ABAANA0ABAA, Thou
Eternal

spirit

and these

united together, and followed

Sun

art the Father;

mode

of invocation

so immeasurably below

it

the most

holy names of the old religions.

THE SCHEMA OF THE OPHITES.

87

which would certainly have never been addressed

to beings of a

discordant,

much

Besides,

Abraxas were the opponent and future destroyer of

Iao, it

if

less of

were absurd

taking precedence

an antagonistic, nature

to place their

each

names together

that

of Iao

being equally invoked in the accom-

panying prayer, and honoured by the same

Moreover the composite

titles of adoration.

which represents,

figure, or Pantheus,

god Abraxas himself,

as all writers agree, the

to each other.

is

much more

fre-

quently accompanied by the inscription Iao than by the epithet

Abraxas
it is

as

and, nevertheless, though only the

followed by the same address

when both names

Thou

first

name

appears,

art our Father,

are engraved in union.

It

is,

&c.

besides, alto-

gether contrary to the rules of symbolism to represent the one

personage in a scene by a figure or emblem, the other by the

characters of his

name

alone

and as repugnant

to reason to

engrave the figure of the god with the name of his adversary
placed in a most conspicuous position, as in mediaeval art to have
painted a crucifix with Satans

In addition to this

it

name replacing

the holy I.N.R.I.

has already been demonstrated that the

numerical, or kabalistic, value of the

name Abraxas

bears a dis-

tinct reference to the nature of the god, the ruler of the year,

worshipped from the

earliest times

under the

title of Iao.

THE SCHEMA OF THE OPHITES.

This

is

the fitting place to introduce the account of the souls

upward passage after death, preserved by Origen (In Celsum, vi.

24) and adopted by Matter. Origen had procured by some means
or other a parchment containing the successive stages of the souls

heavenward journey, the

different

powers

it

should encounter in

and the proper invocations by which their permission

This was called the
cross their domains should be obtained.

its flight,

to

Schema or Diagramma of the Ophites. Much of it is evidently

drawn from the same source as the Neo-Platonic doctrine touching
the planetary origin of the souls faculties, which has been already

examined by
that the soul,

us.

It

when

was the grand

article of the Gnostic belief

released from the body, and on its

way

to

be

absorbed into the Infinite of the Godhead, the utmost aspiration

THE SCHEMA OF THE OPHITES.

88

of all Oriental religions (the Buddhist Nirwana, Perfect Repose,

or Indolentia of the Epicureans),

was obliged to pass through the

regions of the planets, each ruled

by

its

own

presiding genius,

beings of a somewhat material and therefore malignant character,

just as in the Zoroastrian doctrine the

Seven Devs, archministers

To

of Ahriman, are chained each to a separate planet.

obtain

permission to traverse their domains a form of prayer was prescribed in each case, and these are also given
genii were, Adonai, of the

Jupiter

Sabao, of Mars

Sun

Iao,

Orai, of

by Origen.

of the

Venus

Moon

These
Eloi, of

Astaphai, of Mercury

All these names are to be read more

upon our talismans, though probably in a
sense from that taken by the author of the Schema

and Ildabaoth, of Saturn.

or less frequently
different

The names

of

the Jewish angels, Michael,

Gabriel,

Suriel,

Raphael, Thautabaoth, and Erataoth, also occur as names of the

genii presiding over the Fixed Stars, the Bear, Serpent, Eagle,

These notions are manifestly of Magian

Lion, Dog, and Bull.

origin,

and acquired by the Jews during the long period their

country formed a province of the Persian empire.

creed they were

all either titles

and

In the ancient

attributes, or else the chiefest

angels and ministering spirits of the Most

High

but in the

Gnostio mythology they had been degraded from their high

estate,

and reduced to the rank of secondary genii of a mixed

nature,

made up

of good

and

evil,

but

all

equally anxious to win

souls from the empire of Abraxas, the proper lord

the

Whole

St.

2
.

The only

Paul warns his

flock against

being seduced into a worshipping of

nevertheless, this adoration
angels
and the multiplication of their names

went on augmenting

to

and creator of

satisfactory explanation of such

that pitch,

Raphael by a serpent, Gabriel by an

Thautabaoth by a bear, Erataoth by a dog, Onioth or Zartaroth
by an ass.
2
The reward promised to the Angel
of the Church at Thyatira (Ap. ii. 28),
And I will give him the Morning
eagle,

a Council held under Pope

Zacharias reduced them, as objects of
worship, to three alone viz., Michael,
Gabriel, Raphael. This retrenchment
was enforced by Charlemagne in a

Star,

capitulary issued at Aix-la-Chapelle.

diso,

that

In the Diagram of the Ophites

Origen tells us Michael was represented by a lion, Suriel by an ox,

an appro-

evidently bears

reference

this doctrine concerning the

of the planets.

to

Angels

Dante, in his Para-

no doubt on the authority of

ancient tradition, makes Mercury the
abode of those spirits moved in life to
glorious deeds by the love of fame;

;
:

AJBRAXASTER, OR LATER ADAPTED EGYPTIAN.

89

priation of the titles is a very brief one, that the later semi-

who found

Christian semi-Buddhistic philosophers,

all evil in matter,

the source of

and therefore in the material creation, applied

these ancient names, hallowed in their Egyptian usage, to denote

the various agents of the Creator, esteemed, from their

mere demons

office,

as

exactly as they by a similar process transformed the

sacred names of the Jewish, and yet more blasphemously those

But the talisman-makers belonging

of the Christian creed.

to

the old and revived set of ideas continued to employ the same
invocations in their original and time-honoured sense.

The

adjurations to the planetary genii, and the

mode

of ad-

dressing them, will be considered in the section treating of the

deposit of talismans in tombs.

ABRAXASTER, OR LATER ADAPTED EGYPTIAN.

Besides the genuine Abraxas gems, there exists a vastly more
numerous family popularly passing under that name, but which

Bellermann aptly designates as Abraxasters

affinity.

1
,

on account of their

These are the gods of the primitive Egyptian mythology,

but adopted in the syncretistic religions of the age as the types

new

of

ideas,

and

to a considerable extent

by

sects holding the

doctrines of Christianity in combination with the old.

The

Agathodsemon, Chnuphis, has already been discussed at length

only remains to add that

its Coptic origin, Chnepth is given by

Greek name Canopus the god whose
symbol was the vase covered by a human head, used for purifying

it

some

as the root of the

the sacred Nile water.

two erect

Hence

this vase is often

asps, like heraldic supporters

Amongst

thesfe

the most frequent and most important type of

the jackal-headed god Anubis, usually represented in his

all is

Venus of true lovers Luna of theoMars of martyrs for the faith

Saturn of
Jupiter of good princes
such as have led a contemplative and
;

logians

recluse
1

engraved between

2
.

His

third

which are purely astrolothe Decani, the Signs, the

Planets, &c.
2

Perhaps the original of the spheVase of Sins

rical vase, Nile-pitcher,

life.

comprise

is infinite,

gical, viz.,

class,

all those,

the

and

Abraxoid,

their

number

so variously interpreted in these relics,

as will be pointed out hereafter.

ABRAXASTER, OR LATER ADAPTED EGYPTIAN.

90

human and a jackals

Hermes to denote his office

ancient form, but occasionally with both a

head, often bearing the caduceus of

of conducting departed souls through the planets (not as of yore,

through the shades)

to their final rest in the

Pleroma sometimes
;

displaying a palm announcing the victory of the faithful, sometimes presiding over the Psychostasia or Weighing of the soul,

and thus passing

and dead

judge of the quick

for the type of Christ, the

In old Greek gems Hermes often appears with his

1
.

caduceus, bending over and assisting the soul to emerge from the
earth, or

form

Hades; a group presenting a strange coincidence, in

at least (perhaps in origin),

with the mediaeval representa-

The Zoro-

tion of the Saviour raisiug souls out of Purgatory.

astrian hell, or burning lake of molten metal, into

judgment-day Ahriman and

its object

his followers

the ultimate purification of the

doctrine held

by

own, which

be

cast,

at the

had

for

a merciful

by Jerome.

strangely adopted in a sard of

view that most orthodox and

offers to the first

primitive Christian figure the

upon

is

to

condemned

Origen, and partly allowed

Such an acceptation of Anubis

my

were

which

Good Shepherd, bearing a lamb

his shoulders, a crook in his hand, the loins girt

with a

belt having long and flowing ends but on closer examination the
;

figure resolves itself into the double-headed Anubis, the head of

the lamb doing duty for that of the jackal springing from the same
shoulders as the mans, whilst the curved end of the girdle becomes
the long and curly

tail

By this,

of the beast.

drawing

rightly to understand a rude

too,

we

lately discovered

are enabled

on the wall

of a vault 2 on the Palatine, which represents this jackal-headed

figure nailed to the cross with the inscription

CCBCTC TON CON

Gnostic, but which

is

find

(Apol.

an

is

xvi.) to

lately

his
asss

AACZAMCNOC

work of some pious

taken for that of an

illustration of Tertullians

dreamed that an
god has

in reality the

usually looked upon as a heathen blasphemy,

because the jackals head

we

opponent,
head

is

ass.

Here,

too,

meaning when he says

Like

our god.

many others you have

But a new version of our

been made public in Rome ever since the time that

In Catholic

The

cell of

art, Michael holds the scales.

a slave, one of Caesars household.'

To face Page 90.

ABRAXASTER, OR LATER ADAPTED EGYPTIAN.

91

a certain hireling convict of a bull-fighter put forth a picture

The God of the Christians,

was there depicted with the ears of an
1
hoofed, holding in his hand a book, and

with some such inscription as

this,

ONOKOIHTHX. He
ass,

with one of his

clad in the toga.

feet

An almost

exact description this of the Anubis

by Matter, PI. II. C. No. 1, save that instead of the

book he holds a palm branch and caduceus. The same calumny
was transferred somewhat later by the Christians themselves to
the account of the Gnostics. Not being acquainted with the
figure given

Egyptian animal, they mistook (perhaps intentionally) the jackals

head

for that of

an

ass,

which, to say the truth,

it

greatly re-

Thus we

sembles in the rude drawing of our gems.

find Epi-

phanius at the end of the fourth century asserting (Hasres. xxvi.)

that the Gnostic Sabaoth has, according to some, the face of an
ass ,

according to others, that of a hog

hath forbidden the Jews

on which

to eat swines flesh.

last

This

account he
last

notion

Petronius alludes to in his

Judaeus licet et

Now

Sabaoth being held

god of the Jews,

it is

porcinmn numen adoret.

by

all these sectaries as

the national

very probable that in the same confusion

of two beasts originated that belief so prevalent amongst the

ancients,

and quoted by Tacitus (Hist.

v.

4), that the secret

object of worship so jealously guarded within the Sanctuary 2 at

ass),

Jerusalem was the image of this animal (the wild

by the

guidance of which they had relieved their thirst and their

tress

Moses having,

dis-

by the observation of the movements of a

troop of them, found out the spring that saved the Congregation

from perishing in the Wilderness. Again, in the spurious gospel,

The Genealogy

of Mary, 3 the cause assigned for the death of

1
The Anubis in Plate I. 3, shows
most conspicuously one of his feet

hoofed.
2

This story is connected with the

Bacchus was the real god

belief that

of the Jews, for the

Bacchus.
(xxxv.

For

Ass was sacred

to

this attribution Pliny

1) assigns

a curious reason,

that the ass was fond of fennel, a

poison

to all other beasts, but a plant

sacred to the god of wine.
3 This
quotation is preserved by

work itself is
was ascribed to

Epiplianius, for the

entirely

lost.

It

Matthew, and was taken for their

special authority by the Collyridians,
so called from their sacrificing calces
to the Virgin Mary, whom they pre-

ABRAXASTER, OR LATER ADAPTED EGYPTIAN.

92

Zacharias, the son of Barachias,

is,

that going into the Temple, he

beheld standing within the Sanctuary a

ass

and when he was rushing out

unto you

by the

whom

man with

the face of an

do ye worship ? he was struck with dumbness

apparition.

But afterwards, when he had recovered

him

speech, and revealed the vision to the Jews, they slew

And

blasphemer.

this they assign as the reason

hem

priest had bells fastened around the

that this monstrous deity might,

and so have time

his approach,

To

Woe

unto the people,

to cry

by

why

his

as a

the high-

of his garment, in order

their tinkling, be

warned of

to conceal himself.

the same family also belongs the youth Harpocrates, or

Horus

(the vernal sun), having the

strously exaggerated,

emblem

of fecundity

and seated upon the lotus

mon-

flower, often

accompanied by Anubis, to express the necessary regeneration of

This spiritual regeneration

the believer.

in a very singular

and

literal

is

sometimes typified

manner by the group of the Sun-

Lion impregnating a female, the usual Eastern personification of

the disembodied spirit,

who

submits to the operation as

Pectoribus positis sublatis femina lumbis.

Horus often

is

figured sailing through the heavens in the sacred

boat or Baris steered by two hawks, the sun and the

,

moon over

and accompanied by the names Iao, Sabao, &c., exactly

Abraxas himself, and that with sufficient reason, on account of

his head,
as

the solar nature of both divinities.

tells

us,

If

Horus

be, as Heliodorus

a title of the Nile (Blue- water), this type exhibits

another point of analogy to the Hindoo boyish Neruana 1 floating

on the face of the waters in his

leaf,

with

body painted
commonly seen

all his

To complete the resemblance, the vase

hanging by a cord from the hand of Anubis is
azure.

so

the regular Brah-

minical Lotah or brass drinking-cup.

,

Faustus,
tended was Virgin-born.
Bishop of Riez, also cites it concerning the parentage of the B. V. M.
The Birth of Mary still extant is
of a totally different character, a mere

orthodox monkish legend

the autho-

rity with the Protevangelion for all

the mediae val pictures and sculptures

setting forth the events in her
1

life.

Hence the Grecian Nereus.

THE SEVEN VOWELS.

93

THE SEVEN VOWELS.

The backs of such amulets are often filled up with the seven
vowels of the Greek alphabet arranged in as many lines, the
vowels distributed in

all

the permutations possible, subject to

the rule that each line must contain no more than the mystic

number, Seven.

This grouping illustrates the curious tenet that

each vowel represents the sound uttered in

one particular planet, which,

hymn

all

its

by

revolution

combined, form one eternal

This

to the glory of the great Creator of the Universe.

is

the Music of the Spheres, a term so often used without the

meaning

slightest notion of its true

already

known

to Plato,

who

and

was

this Indian fiction

beautifully employs

though he makes each of the seven notes

it

in his vision

to

proceed from

a syren seated upon the several spheres, set in motion

by the Fates.

of Er,

Or,

if

we

choose to accept the authority of the treatise

of the Creator,

On

Seven Vowels represent the ineffable name

Interpretation, the

an explanation supported by the

fact that these

combinations of the vowels often appear purposely to include and

veil

from the profane sense the sacred

Montfaucon,

triliteral

PI. 169, gives a set of inscriptions

AU).
found at Miletus

which these vowels, variously combined, form the name

in

god who

thus besought to protect that city and

is

habitants.

In the

first

name J ehovah

the

is

of the

all its in-

evidently expressed.

IEOYAHU) AEHI OVU) AH <J>VAACON THN nOAIN

MIAHCIWN KAI riANTAC TOVC KATOIKOVNTAC
The

outline of a

serpent,

human

and entirely

holding by its neck the erect

up with such vowels, has been

figure

filled

explained as the type of the spiritual man, regenerated, and

entirely freed from earthly taint, or admitted amongst the Con-

in the phrase of the medieval Manicheans.

solati,

however, as

quoted

Climact. 2 ), takes
1

the

The
type

earthly

Kabbalists

according

Adam was

him

by

Salmasius,

point

to be the representative of the

Adam-Kadmon,
to

on

this

which the

created.

2 This
apparently comtreatise,
posed by Salmasius for the purpose of

Scaliger,

(De An.
365

aeons,

displaying his multifarious learning

on

all possible

subjects, contains

excellent dissertation
gical talismans.

upon

an

astrolo-

LEGENDS AND FORMULAE.

94
all

whose names are supposed

in

short, the

emblem

to be

compressed within the outline

of the Pleroma.

LEGENDS AND FORMULAE.

Besides the talismans merely engraved with the Seven Vowels,

many have the

reverse covered with long inscriptions, whilst some

present nothing but long strings of letters on both obverse and

reverse.

The

Orientalist, desirous of exercising his ingenuity

in the decyphering of these, for the most part, unexplained

monuments, will find a vast collection of such in Raspes Catalogue of Tassies Pastes, from No. 433 to 633, copied and repro-

duced with scrupulous accuracy.

The

reason he there gives for

the attention he has paid to a class previously so neglected

is

All these sects have evidently borrowed

a very sound one.

their symbols, and probably also their respective explanations,

from the iconology and mysteries of the Egyptians and other

nations of the East. 2

If,

as regards the

meaning

of hieroglyphics

and symbols, they had no better information, the Gnostics of

Egypt and Syria had at least national traditions to depend upon

a point assuredly of some weight. If, therefore, the more recent
:

sects of Gnostics

new

blished

upon the
they

with this their symbolical learning have esta-

opinions and fresh modifications of superstition

basis of the old,

knew nothing

we

are not therefore to conclude that

about, and wantonly gave a

Clem. Alex. (Strom, i.) calls these

Inscriptions and Names,
Ephesian Letters, meaning thereby
legends in an unknown tongue, like
the words graven upon the zone and
the feet of the Ephesian Diana, which
Hesychius has preserved viz., Aski,
Basilidan

Kataski, Haix, Tetrax,

Aision

Damnameneus,

Darkness,
Sim, Truth.
These Ephesian words, says Plutarch
(Sympos.), the Magi used to recite
over those possessed by devils. Damnameneus is seen on a Gnostic amulet,
a mummy enfolded by a serpent, in
Light,

interpreted
Himself, the

as,

new meaning

to,

the De la Turbie Collection.

Its
meaning, the Sun, is appropriate
enough to a Mithraic stone.
2

The

earliest

example of these

mystic formulsB is that of the diviner

Brandios, sung by the Milesians to
drive away a pestilence, and preserved
in Clem. Alex.
/Se5v, a/Luf/,

a} >

Tr\r)KTpov , acfny^,

Kvaj-fii, xOvnT'rjs, (pAeyp. u, 5po\p.

where he explains e8u as signifying

the Air, ^ajuxj/ the Sea, and TrXrjKTpov
the Sun.

LEGENDS AND FORMULAE.

the symbols which they thus misapplied.

95

This

the only

is

view in which these amulets and engravings

rational point of

ought to he studied.

These formulae are invariably written in the

Greek character, intermixed with strange symbols, analogous

and evidently derived from, the
in their turn

to,

Hindoo Caste-Marks, and which

became the source of those subsequently adopted by

The

the alchemists and Rosicrucians.

consideration of these, of

which I have collected numerous examples from

all dates

and

countries, will be the subject of a separate chapter.

circumstance connected with these legends the most un-

accountable
of the

is,

wherefore the Pehlevi character, the national one

Magi of those

times, should not have been used for in-

scriptions so often couched in their language

of a talisman in Pehlevi writing that has

a small scroll of silver

leaf,

folded

the sole instance

come

to light being

up within a gold

in the Musee Napoleon III., No. 254.

heart,

now

Neither are any to be

seen in the Punic, though that character with the Pehlevi was

yet the current mode of writing throughout Asia.

present square
are

mere

Hebrew

lettering, all stones

As

for the

on which such occurs

cabalistic or Rosicrucian talismans of the sixteenth

and

Of hieroglyphic writing no trace appears

seventeenth centuries.

even the Demotic modification of

it

had long before been super-

seded at Alexandria by the Greek characters. 1

The language

of these formulae

is

rarely Greek, never Latin

Jamblichus in his letter to

most part Coptic or Syriac.
Porphyry supplies the reason, expressly stating that the gods

for the

are well pleased with invocations addressed unto

them

in the

Egyptian and Assyrian tongues, as being ancient and cognate

languages to their own and those in which prayer was first made
,

unto them; and they have therefore stamped as sacred the

entire language of those holy nations. 3

I have

met with no exception

this rule in

my own

experience

to

but

Caylus gives (vii. pi. 8) an oval agate,

green barred with white, engraved in
a better style than usual, with the
frequent four-winged Priapean genius
in the sacred boat and on the reverse
;

It is a singular coin-

a vertical line of neatly-cut genuine

hieroglyphics.
2

Rather Syro-Chaldee.

The word KAMAP

or

KPAMMA

{Moon, Arab.), often seen in these

legends, throws a light upon Plinys
remark, that the Magi recommended

LEGENDS AND FORMULA.

96

cidence that Justinus

Kemer,

book

in his extraordinary

Scberin von Prevorst, in reading wbicb one continually

tuates

between tbe two ideas of its being

Die
fluc-

either a ridiculous fiction,

or a revelation of tbe profoundest truth, assigns a similar reason

why

tbe writing used by tbe visitants from tbe other world

much

should so

resemble Arabic

inasmuch as that bad tbe best

But

claim to be considered tbe primitive language of mankind.

omne ignotum
priestcraft;

pro magnifico has ever been tbe

and experience has demonstrated

maxim

of

More

truth.

its

particularly does tbe rule apply to tbe objects of adoration

thus

Orpheus bath

Then whilst the caldron bubbles oer the flame,

Address each godhead by his mystic name
Full well the Immortals all are pleased to hear
Their secret names

rise in the

muttered prayer.

Thus Irenseus gives a formula, couched in Hebrew words in

awe into tbe Gallic neophyte [at Lug-

order to inspire greater

dunum], used by certain Gnostics in administering Baptism.

BaoO'fyua
:

cuavopu

Kovcrra

Bay6a0op

tbe Light

fia

furTradia

by name, tbe good

of tbe Father

^aXBaiav

vapLEfi^aijiav

Naapia

Saviour of Truth
!

judge from
its

and tbe

fioaofJiT]laea

its

engraving,

One.

May

ov

\paova

Irjaov

Head and tbe

super-

I prosper in tby name,

Tbe most important

of such formulas, to

frequent repetition and tbe care bestowed upon

is

tbe one here transcribed.

from tbe famous Herz garnet, perhaps tbe

Lunae nomen

Life, because

atcypavcu

I do not separate tbe Spirit, tbe

celestial Virtue, tbe merciful

Spirit,

Another form was, Meaaia

thou bast reigned in tbe body.

(papey

povada

I invoke Thee, supreme over every Virtue,

yafioacre

KaXa^Oai

ac Solis to be cut
to render

My

copy

is

finest talisman

taken

known.

andria was the chief seat of the manuof these talismans, is the

on amethysts or emeralds

facture

and
In the Praun
Collection was an oval emerald (of
very bad quality, however) which I
take for one of these very amulets,
being engraved with the names IAW.

material, besides the alphabet almost

them amulets against

witchcraft,

to give success at court.

invariably employed.

CABAW

unaccountable why we never find on

them the proper character of the Magi,
the Pehlevi in which all the legends
upon works executed in the Persian
Empire, at that time, were written.

ABPACAC.

A convincing

proof to the mineralogist that Alex-

It

is

indeed

LEGENDS AND FORMULAE.

97

2f in. high by 1^ in. wide, having

on the other 11 lines neatly engraved in the

It is a thick heart-shaped slab,

on one side

14,

Greek character used in the second century.

It evidently con-

Zend and Chaldee words, intermixed with the names of

angels, and the usual titles of Abraxas
tains

Obverse.

Reverse.

ATU)CACAWAAWN
GMCIAAMABPACAC
C3ZYPPATHAKPAMMA
KPAMMAKANAPICCC
rrN B AA<J>APAN THC
MCIAAMlOBAHM
ACN AM B(jON APOV

OiriCCWPOYAP
IAWPU)HA<|>ON
Alto

AIH

TOC

WAIH MAto HAO

toA OYto YH
toAIYIHI

AHYto

ANTAMlYnHAN

HAtoAYto
THtoA
toHAtoHNH4>l

MOPAPAXCIA
AA3TMAI

HAtoYHM*
MHAIAOA
AlHHtototo

tOW
(There

is

no distinction between

A and A

throughout.)

These two inscriptions exactly agree with the obverse and

reverse of the oval calcedony given

by

Chiflet (Fig. 69), except-

ing that the latter has in addition a few words enclosed within

Of this his friend Wendelin, reading

good Greek, had made out a most orthodox

a coiled serpent at the top.

the language as

version, containing an

invocation to the Trinity, &c., which,

however, did not by any means satisfy the learned and sagacious
Canon.
The opening evidently is, Blessed be the King of
Kings, the Lord, the Eternal Sun, Abraxas, and Zuratel, the

Moon. ...

Amongst the Townley Gems

sard, agreeing in all

1
I take the first words for the
Pehlevi Ato Sha Shaan the legends
;

(British

Museum)

is

a large oval

but a few letters with Chiflets example.

on the Sassanian gems often begin

with Ato-Ri, Bless the king.

LEGENDS AND FORMULAE.

98

Doubtless such large and loaded stones served for pocket prayerbooks, and the invocations upon
rites

by

may

allude

them were recited at tbe sacred

To some such manual of devotion Orpheus

possessor.

tlie

when he

says

Pray, with the flowered Petraces in thine hand,

When
There

is

hecatombs before the altar stand.

a peculiarity in the shape of the letters in nearly all

which of

these inscriptions,

belonging to the
the

0, O, and C made

itself serves to identify

They

class.

are all formed

by

any stone

straight lines,

either in consequence of the

as squares,

rudeness of the instrument employed, or the want of skill in

the engraver having prevented his forming circular characters,
to do

and

which neatly requires the utmost dexterity and

is

wheel

was with

for it

this

new

practice,

demanded from the

the most difficult task that can be

invention, 1 as the equality of

the lines demonstrates, that these rude, misshapen letters

faintly sketched

upon the

were

stone.

These invocations are sometimes found superadded on the

backs of gems of a

much

earlier date, apparently for the sake of

converting them into amulets.

singular example

Commodus

sardonyx,

is

known

to

Of such a conversion the most

me

on the back of the

a fine cameo, 2 the bust of

is

stone, in the black

ground of the

engraved the god Abraxas, in his usual shape,

surrounded by the unique legend

APAOY TNNAI OAMNAI BACIAICKWC.

Another in Pier Majestys

meted heads regardant

of the

collection, a

cameo, with the hel-

two elder sons of Constantine, has

on the back Anubis, with a legend in large rude lettering which

The extremely barbarous style of these
defies even transcription.
additions obliges us to refer

them

that of the camei themselves

In all likelihood due to the Alexandrian glass-workers, famed for their

engraved vases alluded to by Pliny
1

in the words, vitrum

aliud argenti

to a

much

later period than

and the position they occupy

modo

cselatur

and

called

by Martial

tepidi toreumata Nili.

2

In the Marlborough Cabinet.

LEGENDS AND FORMULAE.

99

being necessarily concealed, they could only have been designed

for talismans to protect the wearer.

As

Glyptic art

far as tbe bistory of tbe

is

concerned, these

gems have a value by furnishing the date when the

wheel came into use in the lapidarys atelier for the minute and
inscribed

elegant lettering of earlier

work

will be found, if examined

the microscope, to have been cut into the

point alone, and hence

its perfect

gem with

regularity and neatness.

(Cat. p. 38) has given accurate transcripts of a large

inscriptions belonging to every

by

the diamond

Raspe

number of these

form of Gnosticism.

Chabouillet

has lately done the same for those (very numerous) in the French
Cabinet, in his Cat. des Camees et P. G. de la Bib. Imp., p. 282.

In Gorlaei Dactyliotheca

1695), Nos. 326 to 476

(ed.

entirely Gnostic or astrological designs,

part of those published

whose

plates

scale,

but with

by Chiflet in Macarii Apistopistus (1610),

for the work on a reduced

have been re-engraved

many

Gronovius himself, as

As examples

additions from impressions collected

it

of the class

riEPA

AM BO

may be

VBAKA

headed goddess, Taf-Neith

KAX

Anubis, double headed,

cited,

KZIK

On

YK

(PI.

the reverse
i.

standing, lotus-crowned.
-

XVXBA

KAXVA

3)

LionReverse,

BAZA

KX.

Legend cut
chon

XVXBA

apparently Syriac,

by

would seem.

holding, with four hands, torches and daggers.

-

are

and include the larger

in elegant characters

on the reverse

is

upon a large Topaz en cabo-

an oval, enclosing

| ,

an eye, a crossed

square, and a A.

AMAPYCMHPIAEMlOYtO
POACNABAPEEHIOYU)
NABAPNEHIOYU)
EPA0PAYMOYU)
ZArECOHOYlO

OP0POXOPCEYW
AXAHMAPEU)
Legend cut

in larger

and ruder

Ambo,

letters

on a convex calcedony.

the Coptic for Anubis.

h 2

LEGENDS AND FORMULAE.

100

Reverse, the usual three

Z Z Z traversed by a

This legend,

bar.

on the reverse of an

slightly varied, occurs in yet ruder lettering

intaglio, a female portrait, in Caylus, VI., PI. xl.,

4 and

5.

CTOXBA0A
HMAAAKIC0OM
MAKOXH'OX

ABPAMMACO0H

ABPAMMHA
A

very minute figure of Abraxas, on Green Jasper, has the

uncommon

invocation to

him by the

title of

Abrachar

AB PAXAP2ArPAtOA ACOAPICONIE

Green Jasper (Praun)

is

covered with a neatly cut inscrip-

tion in several lines, surrounding one enclosed in a circle formed

two

of

upon which

lines,

ment the

Irish

initial letters

Oghams.

thus

marks resembling in arrange-

are cut

This stone

is

much

chipped, and

many

lost.

nypocox
KPH4>0

YMAPTA
AP<i>OY

OY0P
<I>OY0AI

XOYBY

AAIAAM
0AA0AA

ANOX

*Y0A0O

MOYI

POCICO

COPCO

YAAAA

ICO

AYCfl I0IAAKY0CO

cyniNEmA
A

brown calcedony neatly engraved with a caduceus within a

wreath, doubtless secured the benign influence of Thoth

Hermes, by the AKP|C04>I on

Abeam here means the Seir-Ampin,

Primitive

Man of the Kabbalists, made

its

reverse.

Celtic

Ogham,

Most singular

in

which

or
is

all the letters

of the alphabet are represented by a

up of 243 members, the numerical

Hebrew letters in the

s imil ar disposition of short strokes,

value of the

different relations to

name.

line.

They

exactly correspond with the

in

one continuous

LEGENDS AND FORMULAE.

yellow jasper, which displays a pierced

emblem

AEIHOYWAI
^ MIXAHAV-

mystic vowels
reverse

Crenzer (Archaeol.

quatrefoil (that mediaeval

name

of an angel) above the

101

A^l, followed by the

TABAW0

then

and

(sic),

for

plasma,

III., last plate) figures a large oval

engraved with this formula enclosed within a coiled-up serpent

biting its

Several of the letters are run together by nexus

v
by him
ow(ir]ovavriola,r] E iyyyy K

tail.

of unusual forms, thus read

e par ay pig-ovrog

eariv o

TvpbiTorcariop

repi

/iovoq

aoj/j-arog

(vv

dia

CoXo/joovtoq atypayig Fv,E,o()va

TzavTiov TtopevofievoQ

KloNFCT(0-\OVTOK(j)a\r)

The vowels

in the

first lines

conceal the Ineffable Name, Iao,

with the singular title of Eratagris, and the

o 7rpuTO)[xaroQ

Coptic barbarism for a erwparoe, 2 Incorporeal.

interest of the legend is the profession that the

showing

following are the Signet of Solomon

seems a

But the

unknown
at

chief

letters

what an early

date that famous seal had attained celebrity as the greatest of

talismans.

lion-headed in the last word

The

may apply

to

the Pater Bromius. 3

The Pater Bromius

of the Mithraic

to the title of Sabao, so often coupled

rejoices

epithet Sabazius, derived from

in the

Sabaoi raised during the

tical

Cave may

orgies

by

his votaries

with the Hebrew Sabi, glory.

day who bellow out the same word

also lay claim

with Adonai

for

Bacchus

the shout of

a word

iden-

Certain sectaries of our

at their

Revivals are

little

aware what an ancient and congenial authority they have

their vociferations.

Adonai, our Lord,

Greeks into Adoneus, a synonym of Pluto

is

for

converted by the

and I have already

adduced the line of Orpheus proclaiming the identity of Pluto,

Bacchus, and Sol

a statement

that the Syrian rite, the

Intended apparently for the Living

Name,

consisting of thirty letters re-

vealed

to

Marcus by the Supreme

In fact

7r epi,

in composition, has

properly this force

e.g.

tt e

p Leaped e is,

for

Adonis ( the women

which may have misled

divested of,

the illiterate Coptic magician.

3

The

He

Tetrad.
2

recalling the ancient explanation

mourning

is

whole may be rendered,

the Primal Father (Bythos)

incorporeal,
all

things

sole-existing,
.

pervading

the lion-headed,

LEGENDS INTERPRETED.

102

weeping

for

Suns loss of

Thammuz), was no more than expressive

power

of the

in the winter quarter.

LEGENDS INTEBPBETED

Bellermann has explained, from the Coptic, and in a

satisfac-

tory manner, several of these tormenta verborum, as Jerome

The following are amongst the most frequent.

BAINXU)U)C0, from BAI, a prize Nxon, secret owto,

aptly calls them.

honour.

upon

Denoting, perhaps, a symbol given to the neophyte

his admission into the fraternity.

The

figures so frequently

occurring formed out of lines set at various angles to each other,

and intermingled with

he plausibly enough takes

dots,

for the

up at
random by the handful out of an urn, and then suffered to fall on
the ground the diviner interpreted the forms they thus assumed
Sacred Lots.

These were

little

sticks

and

balls taken

according to certain rules, and so expounded the future

1
.

The

arrangement of the strokes on these talismans represents certain

configurations determined as propitious.

This explanation

supported by the Geomancy of the modern Arabs

2
,

is

in which lines

drawn at random on the sand with a stick are interpreted by persons whose business is that mode of divination. Our fortunetelling by means of tea-grounds is regulated by the similar
accidental juxtaposition of particles, forming to the experienced

eye defined figures and letters of the alphabet.

opinion that although Bellermanns theory
cases, yet

many

But

it is

may apply

my own
to

some

of these symbols are actual arrow-headed cha-

racters belonging to the ancient Assyrian alphabet

their forms

somewhat corrupted by Greek wizards who employed them,

ignorant of their proper sense. What more natural than (the
Assyrian language being

still

considered, as lamblichus records,

peculiarly grateful to the heavenly powers) that some of these

invocations should continue

to

1
Such were the famed Sortes
Antiates held in Fortunas hands.

Herodotus (iii. 8) mentions that

the only gods worshipped by the

be couched in their antique

Arabians were Dionysos and Yenus

Urania called by them OvporaX and
AAiAaT names resembling some oc;

curring in these legends.

LEGENDS INTERPRETED.
Be

cyphers ?

remembered

it

down

They, at

for centuries later.

class to trouble themselves

religious

least,

were a very unlikely

with the Greek alphabet or Greek

literature, professing, like the Talmudists, a

MECXANAAW.

The Messias be

wearer of the talisman)

M A P U) H N

by Alexusages by the

to its conquest

was preserved in

ander, and naturally

was the

this arrow-headed character

national one of the Persian empire

Magi

103

holy horror for both.

him

propitious unto

(the

Enlighten mine eyes

ANOX XOA XNOVBIC-

am

all

the

Good

Spirit! or

the Universal Genius of Good.

KAVAAKAV,
the Saviour,
ridicules

it

as

spelt

is

name

according to Theodoret, the Basilidan

by Epiphanius

KAVAAKAVX>

an expression taken from Isaiah

out any regard to

its

real

meaning

for

and he

(xxviii. 10) with-

But

in that passage.

it

may

be derived with better reason from the Arabic, as signifying

Strength upon Strength that is, the All-Powerful or, with
:

Bellermann, from the Coptic

KAB>

a lamp

therefore

title

equivalent to the Burning and the Shining Light.

AMAPriA
The Priest

seems the Chaldee Amerchel, or President.

flamingo

Hence

feathers.

synonymous with

emblem

of his

office,

As

was

or plume-wearer,

KTepotyopoQ,

The

priest in Egypt.

staff in

his

hand,

sceptrum sacerdotale, has the serpent

entwined five times about

Chnuphis

upon his head the

whence spring two

figured on these stones wears

Kalantica , a square piece of purple cloth,

it,

which may explain the

SSS

on the

stones.

for the geometrical figures so often introduced, they bore,

perhaps,

much

the same import as in the Eosicrucian philosophy,

which obtained these and many other Gnostic symbols by

dition,

probably through the Arabs.

stands for the Four Elements

Life

the Triangle, for Body, Spirit, and

or for the Sun, Moon, and Mercury.

explains

by

Salt, Sulphur,

Quicksilver

three radical forces of Nature.

Egg, whence issued

This

last Paracelsus

according

The Rhombus

is

him the

to

the

Orphic

all Creation.

Plutarch, in his treatise

clue to the

tra-

In their system, the Square

meaning of others.

De

Iside et Osiride, furnishes a

MOY ,

Mother,

is,

according

ABRACADABRA.

104
to him, a title

given to Isis. This word, originally the same as

our Mud, contains an evident allusion to the Earth, out of

which Man was formed. 1

NOOT,

written with the square O, for NOYT, God.

the E set on its hack, a vertical

Three characters often occur

line crossed

by two

the numerals

horizontal strokes, and a 2,

5, 3, 7, le.,

which stand

for

the Triad, Pentad, Heptad, lucky and

mystic numbers in all Eastern religions.

Hence the letters

upon these gems are usually disposed in three, five, or seven
lines.
For the same reason we find the name IAL0 written
with its elements repeated thus, IOAIAU3, for the sake of

number Five. Again, by introducing the

Holy Name is repeated in five different forms,

obtaining the sacred

H? the

letter

HAI, AHI, HIU), AIC0, IAU).

IA0AI,

Gods

POYHA,
dom

Providence;

Gods Will;

MA0AH,

XCOMI,

Gods Honour

Gods Power;

CBW,

Wis-

thus expressing in Coptic the five Emanations, Phronesis,

Logos, Nous, Hynamis, Sophia.

common formula, TAAA APAIU)

NBA!. Protector, Creator rule,
.

NTOKO
MAI

MYM VXAVM
.

Food, Iao! implying that Iao

of the soul.

APAANA
Our Light

(Syriac).

the source,

0AM AKA

speak,

Source, Salvation,
life,

salvation, food

CAAKANA XAMKIM
.

Let thy goodness grant unto us a

0 Lord !

full

Hence, apparently, the purpose of this talisman was to

lap.

AAONAl AANTAAA.

procure fecundity.
the

Being,

tOI.
is

WAPAOPO

Lamb.

of beauty,

bears on the reverse the words,

flights,

10 ICO

The Sphinx, emblem

Pursue them

i.e .

my foes)

Lord! thou
force,

and

art

lofty

AN AKA A. AKAAA0-

to destruction,

ABBA CADABBA

0 Lord

ABA AN A0A

The normal invocation,

BAA, Thou art our
Father addressed to Iao, becomes by a slight corruption, due
!

to the Latin pronunciation, the long-famous

Martials

charm Abracadabra.

lutum Prometheum.

OTHER TYPES ADOPTED BY THE GNOSTICS.

This

by the following prescription of

conclusively proved

is

Serenus Sammonicus, physician

cone, exactly as the

Gordian

to

He

middle of the third century.

out for an amulet against

about

III.,

the

orders the word to be written

the form of an inverted

all diseases, in

Hebrew

105

invocation sometimes occurs cut on

these green jaspers.

Thou must on paper write the spell divine,

Abracadabra called, in many a line
Each under each in even order place,
But the last letter in each line efface
As by degrees its elements grow few,
;

Still take

away, but

fix

the residue,

Till at the last one letter stands alone,

And

the whole dwindles to a tapering cone.

Tie this about the neck with flaxen string.

Mighty the good Twill

to the patient bring

wondrous potency shall guard his head,

And drive disease and death far from his bed.
Its

OTHER TYPES ADOPTED BY THE GNOSTICS.

The winged goddesses Athor and Sate, representing the Yenus
and Juno of the Romans, sometimes appear accompanied by such
legends as prove that they also have been enlisted into the
Gnostic service, probably as the representatives of certain feminine

But another shape repeatedly presents himself,

whose true character it is impossible to do more than conjecture,
Virtues.

he being a genuine creation of this system of commingled

He

is

ideas.

a bearded man, Priapean, with four arms grasping as

many hooked

sceptres, four wings,

and a

birds outspread tail,

standing sometimes in the sacred boat, sometimes upon the

coiled serpent.
tails,

he

is

As he

often holds a scorpion or

he may be a Decanus of that sign

addressed,

like

ABAANA0ABAA

is

met with another type

woman

enthroned upon a huge

common Agathodaemon,
;

for it lacks the lions

the goddess she most re-

the Phoenician Atergatis, or Mother Earth.

The Sate

for

I have likewise

head, and more resembles the asp

sembles

Abraxas himself, with the apostrophe

equally difficult to identify, a

serpent, not the

two by the

a potent guardian

or Truth appears again as one of the iEons.

ZODIACAL DECANI, OR ABRAXOIDS.

106

Interesting above the rest for the part

mediaeval times,

is

it

subsequently

filled

in

tbe figure of Osiris wearing a radiated crown,

like a mummy, and always erect in full

the true Baphomet of the Templars. Sometimes he

his

body swathed

face

stands upon the heads of four angels in postures of adoration,

upon

whom two

streams of water (or perhaps blood and water)

flow out of his sides.

as

Such a group indeed has been explained

Ormuzd borne up by

is in

the angels of the elements

and the idea

truth rather of the Persian than the Egyptian cast, for on

Assyrian monuments Athor often appears pouring out from her

extended arms the waters of

life

Persian female Ized Arduisher

the Living Water.

by her

title

figures.

The

the Giver of

Another not uncommon type

Soldier, either

upon the subject

is

is

an armed man, the Mithraic

holding a spear terminating in a cocks head, or

two serpents. This may refer to the circumstance

Egypt a certain sect went by the name hTparuoriicoi,
Militant and Phibionitae. A most singular design is the

else grasping

that in

three-headed and three-bodied god, who, standing in the attitude

hand the symbol

of Priapus, grasps in one

other holding scorpions and serpents.

respects, has a great

of fecundity, in the

This type, in certain

analogy to the ancient Osiris, but the

triadism introduced bears the unmistakeable stamp of an Indian

origin.

At each

side rise

two obelisks engraved with

letters,

representing the Pillars of Hermes, on which that god had

engraved the Omne Scibile, as Tubal did in anticipation of

the Deluge, and which yet survive

among Masonic emblems,

vulgarized into Jachin and Boaz, the Pillars of Solomon.

ZODIACAL DECANI, OB ABBAXOIDS.

It is often impossible to

some Gnostic and religious

decide whether a figure be a type of

idea, or

1
Another symbol, the 0, may be
explained by what Eusebius notices

of the Egyptian

mode

of representing

the World, by a circle coloured sky-

merely an astrological genius

blue and besprinkled with flames, in

the centre an extended serpent; so
that the whole figure resembled tho
letter

in the

Ophite Diagram.

ZODIACAL DECANI, OR ABRAXOIDS.

whose influence was thus engaged

And

how much

for the wearers protection.

from the very nature of the subject,

this difficulty arises

seeing

107

creeds were

these

by Magism,
Thus as

tinctured

whose gods were no other than the starry powers.

regards the most popular of

thodsemon Serpent,
as one of the

we

all,

Chnumis

himself, the Aga-

actually find Hephaestion describing

Three Decani in Cancer.

him

Salmasius with reason

derives the term Decanus from the Chaldee Dekan, Inspector,

by Horoscopus, the

exactly rendered in Greek

down on

the nativity.

He

star that looks

therefore rejects its usual Latin

and

military 2 derivation, as entirely foreign to the idea conveyed.

Again

XAPXNOYMIC

Leo, and this

title

is

named

as

the

First

Decanus in

actually occurs around a serpent having a

human head, whence issue rays, presented in front face; the

name sometimes being written XOAXNOYBIC, rendered by
Salmasius All-golden. A Greek astrologer, quoted by him
(De An.

Climact.), states:

There

cani appointed, of various forms,

are in each Sign three De-

one holding an axe the others

,

These figures engraved on rings are

represented differently.

charms against accidents, as Teucer says

astrologers of his times. 3

Not only were the* Decani engraved on gems and rings in order
to avert
mishaps, but also were
1

figured the Signs,

and the

do other great

as

This notice of their attributes shows

stars rising

Ztttha.
Diodorus distinguishes between the planets and the arroixeia

stars; so the word exactly

answers to the modern constella-

or fixed

with them, or tt apauare\These images were called

2 t otxeia hence the persons were
called ^Toixeicj/xarLKOL who engraved
such gems with the figures of the

tions.

Decani, Signs, &c., using certain ceremonies and under the inspection of

fore the (TToixeLtop.aTLKOL

together
Xovres.

the particular star of the Horoscope.

Thus Epiphanius speaks

and the other

the Moon,

of the Sun,
planets,

and

Ptolemy in the Carpus, Aphorism

IX*, observes the figures (et8?j

o-roixeia)

in

rise

afiected by the heavenly bodies, where-

employ them,
by observing the entrance of the planets
where the Arabian transinto them
lation gives talisman-makers

the

Answering

Myriogeneses

is,

for

the term o-Toixeivy-aTiKoi.

figures of the constellations or /xopcpu-

the heavenly Srotxeta, that

and decline are

to
.

our sergeant.

Scaliger

(Not. ad

creis

formed by the imaginary collocaAgain Epiphanius

tion of the stars.
talks of the stars vainly imagined

Manil., p. 487) gives the ascendants

in each sign as represented by the

after the fashion of figures eis pvQjuov

to

ffroix^icov,

which they

call the

Signs

Arabian astrologers, as they pretended

have received them from the Egyptians.
Those of the first Decanus in

ZODIACAL DECANI, OR ABRAXOIDS.

108

number

plainly one of the

to

have been the old Babylonian god

by the prophet Baruch (Epistle, 13, 14). He hath

a sceptre in his hand like a man, like a judge of the kingdom
he hath in his hand a sword and an axe. Thus, too, do I
described

understand a curious stone (Praun gems) engraved in a late

Roman

with Mercury seated on a throne and invested

style,

with the laurel crown and thunderbolt of Jupiter

a ram; around

is

the legend

E1HITA

(sic)

has hitherto baffled conjecture as to

fortune lately brought into

crowned by

Delphic

beneath

my

at his side
last

true meaning.

But

its

possession a cameo bearing the

fillet,

with

word

the

XPYCOY

and since that I have discovered another almost

by Caylus in his invaluable

27). As there can be no doubt

identical, figured

quites

XPYCOC, which

(vii. pi.

Recueil

d Anti-

that this signifies

the Golden Five, the most sacred of numbers, and represents

the golden numeral offered

the Praun
the

god

to

by Livia Augusta

at Delphi, so in

gem we

discover the Golden Seven accompanying

whom

peculiarly belonged,

it

Testudo resonare

septern

Callida nervis.

Indeed from the beginning strange adaptations of ancient types

were made.

The

followers of

Aries will suffice, by the truly medieval nature of the representations

themselves, to demonstrate the falsity
of their pretensions, and the more
recent origin of such figures.
Aries, the first Decanus Asiccan of
Mars, gives courage and impudence.
1. Man holding in his right hand a
pruning-hook, in his left a cross-bow.
with right
2. Dog-headed man,

hand extended, a wand

3.

in his

left.

Man

ments

holding out various ornain his right hand, his left

placed in his girdle.

4. Man with curly hair, in his right
a hawk, in his left a whip.
5. Two men, one cleaving wood
with an axe, the other holding a

sceptre.

Simon Magus, says

6.

Irenaeus,

had

A king crowned, in his right the

orb, in his left the sceptre.

7.
8.

Man in armour holding an arrow.

Man with a helmet, in his right

hand a
9.

cross-bow.

Man

bareheaded, a sword in his

left.

10. Man spearing a boar.

All these types were expressive of
corresponding inclinations and qualities in the native under each degree.

But Scaliger explains, and very plausimany of the compound figures

bly,

holding zodiacal signs in their hands,

and usually classed among the gnostical, as genuine
representations of
these Myriogeneses that is, personifi;

cations of the influence of each

dividual degree.

in-

To face I'age

08.

ISIAC SYMBOLS.

109

images of him made in the likeness of Jupiter, of the Moon, and

of Minerva,

and

to these

images they paid adoration.

Taaut, the great god of the Phoenicians, says Sanchoniathon,

to express the character of Saturn or Kronos,

made

his image

having four eyes, two before, two behind, open and closed, and
four wings,

god

sees

two expanded, two

wings that he

flies

As the genius
to be

folded.

The eyes denote

and sleeps in waking

in sleep,

and

in rest,

rests in flying.

of the planet Saturn

good and pure, not

was held by the Talmudists

so those of the other planets, the four-

winged genius already noticed,

character of a guardian angel,

so

frequently repeated in the

may be

considered the represen-

He, as the direct inspirer of the

tative of Saturn.

that the

the position of the

Law and

the

Prophets, had peculiar claims to the veneration of the Alexandrian

Kabbalists.

Here we discover the reason why Valentinus appoints

that planet for the proper mansion of the Creator Ildabaoth, he

who spoke through

the Prophets and gave the

Law

in the Wil-

derness.

ISIAC SYMBOLS.
The

and symbols

best-detailed account extant of the figures

employed in the worship of

the second century)

is

Isis

when

still

in all its glory (during

the description of the Procession given

Apuleius, himself one of the initiated (Met. xi.)

the crowds of persons initiated into the divine mysteries

and women, of every rank and of

whiteness of a linen robe

all ages,

by

Next flow on
;

men

shining in the pure

the latter having their dripping hair

enveloped in a transparent covering, the former with their heads

shaven clean, and their bare crowns shining white

stars of the nocturnal rite raising as

the earthly

they went along a

tinkling with sistra of bronze, silver, and even of gold.

chief performers in the

shrill

But the

ceremony were those nobles who, clad in

descending from the waist down to

a tight-fitting robe of linen

the heels, carried in the procession the glorious symbols of the

most potent

The

deities.

diffusing before

him

first

held out at arms length a lamp

a brilliant light, not

by any means

similar

in form to those in ordinary use for illuminating our evening

meals, but a golden

bowl supporting a more ample blaze in the

ISIAC SYMBOLS.

110

midst of

up

its

The

broad expanse.

in both hands the altar

providence

beneficent

supreme

of the

marched along, bearing

second, similarly robed, held

which derives

emblem

The

of Justice, the figure of the left

open, which, on account of

name from the

The third

palm-branch, the leaves formed

aloft a

of thin gold, and the caduceus of Hermes.

the

its

goddess.

fourth displayed

hand with the palm

natural inactivity, and

its

being

its

endowed with neither skill nor cunning, has been judged a more
fitting emblem of Justice than the right hand. The same minister
also carried a small golden vessel

made

in a round form like an

udder, out of which he poured libations of milk.

The fifth
The last
of all bore a vast wine-jar. Immediately after these came the
Deities, condescending to walk upon human feet, the first among
them raising terribly on high his Dogs head and neck; that
up with golden

carried a winnowing-fan piled

sprigs.

messenger between heaven and hell displaying a face alternately

black as the night, and golden as the day, in his
caduceus, in his right waving a green palm-branch.

were closely followed by a

this

cow being the

goddess

Cow

fruitful

which one of the happy

containing the mystic

By

articles,

the

raised into an upright position

emblem

supported on his shoulders.

left

His steps

of the Universal Parent, the

train bore,

with majestic

another was carried the

steps,

Coffer,

and closely concealing the secret

Another bore in his happy

Supreme Deity, not represented in

things of the glorious religion.

bosom the awful

figure of the

the form of a beast either tame or wild, nor of a bird, nor again
in the shape of a

inspiring

human

being, but ingeniously devised

awe through its very strangeness

that

ineffable

and

symbol

of a deeper mystery, and ever to be shrouded in the profoundest

silence.

But next came, borne

made

small vase
out

into

in precisely the

same manner, a

of burnished gold, and most skilfully wrought

hemispherical

strange Egyptian devices.

bottom, embossed
Its

externally with

mouth, but slightly

raised,

was

extended into a spout, and projected considerably beyond the

body of the bowl

1

1
;

whilst on the opposite side, widening as

The Hindoo Lingum-Yoni,

or

symbols of the Active and Passive

Nature in conjunction, is represented

it

in stone as a round shallow bowl, with

a long
point

projecting lip tapering to a

from the centre

rises

an obtuse

ISIAC SYMBOLS.
receded to a capacious opening,

was

it

Ill

affixed to the handle,

which was seated an Asp wreathed into a knot, and

on high

lifting

on

up

streaked, swollen, scaly neck.

its

The udder-shaped Vase exactly

describes that so often

seen upon the gems, and which Matter so strangely explains as

the vessel containing the sins of the deceased

a most unlikely

subject to figure on an amulet designed to attract the favour of

the heavenly powers.
that

More

plausible

is

Kohlers conjecture,

no more than one of the earthen pots used

it is

around the circumference of the irrigating-wheel

for raising the Nile

water to

fertilize the adjacent

certainly the hands around

In

fact,

we have an

its

for fixing

employed

still

gardens

analogous deification of a vessel in the

Canopus, the vase that held the same water for drinking.

Winnowing-fan*

is

and

top favour this interpretation.

The

frequently represented placed upon this vase;

and the golden Bowl serving

for a

lamp often forms one in the

group of emblems occupying the face of such talismans

3
.

It seems to follow as a matter of course that the Anubis , in

order to exhibit alternately an ebon and a golden visage, must

have had two heads in the image seen by Apuleius, just as he

figured holding the

is

caduceus and palm on certain Basilidan

That mysterious shape, too awful to be described, but

gems.

whose nature

human,
one

is

is

so darkly hinted at as neither beast, bird, nor

tempted to believe, from these very expressions,

was a compound of all the three in short, our friend Abraxas

himself.
The image must have been of small size, seeing that it
was carried hidden in the bosom of the priests robe and my
;

suspicion

eone.

is

Now

confirmed by the existence in the late Mertens Col-

this is the exact

shape

of a bronze

lamp from Herculanum

(Caylus,

pi. 33),

vii.

but out of the

of Osiris, to use the antique phraseology.

2

In the Greek marriage ceremony

centre springs a bent fore-finger (digi-

the winno wing-fan, piled with all sorts

tus obscoenus), serving for a handle

of fruit,

and from the sides

project the three arms of the Egyptian
This must have belonged to
Tau.
the Isis worship in that town no

head.

a broad shallow basket, was the cradle

of the infant Bacchus the mystica

doubt as popular there as we know it

at Pompeii.
1
Fecundating Isis with the seed

rows

to carry

it

by;

was

was placed on the brides

The same

agricultural article,

vannus Iacchi.
3

The
its

sistrum also evidently borpeculiar outline

Hindoo Yoni.

from the

MATERIALS AND STYLE.

112

lection of a bronze, five inches in height, found in the south of

France, and thus described in the Catalogue

armed with

tuette of Iao standing,

whip

No. 2062. Sta-

cuirass,

and buckler, and

his head in the form of a cocks, his legs terminating in

serpents.

MATERIALS AND STYLE.

Gnostic Intagli are the sole relics of the glyptic art linger-

ing through the last two centuries of the

Roman Empire,

if

we

except a few rude figures of the goddess Roma, Victories, and

As may be well supposed,

Eagles.

designs

is at its

the art displayed in their

lowest ebb, being itself but a degenerate scion of

The engraving must

most part have been executed by means of a coarse wheel

the debased Egyptian School of Alexandria.

for the

like that characterizing the Sassanian stamps then generally used

in Persia, a country itself the source of many of the ideas expressed

The

in these figures and legends.

choice Indian Sards, Nicoli,

and Amethysts, which embellished an

earlier period, are replaced

here by stones the produce of the very regions that were the
cradle of the creed

yellow

the Jasper of Egypt, dark green, mottled, or

the plasma, usually of bad quality, passing from a

yellowish-green into the commonest calcedony

abundantly, the loadstone.

1

stone,

and, quite

as

Indeed, the Jasper and the Load-

the special minerals at the fountains of the Magic art,

Egypt and Assyria, had from time immemorial been adjudged

the peculiar vehicles for the exhibition of talismans.

So constant

is this rule,

that Gnostic types,

executed and in fine stones, as

is

when found

well

sometimes the case, will on

examination always prove to belong to the Cinque-Cento age, a

when

time

all subjects

pertaining to astrology, or the Kabala,

were again produced in vast numbers, in compliance with the

1

The

muchHenry III.s

true etymology of the

disputed word Cameo, in

Cufic

foreign origin.

Babylonian cylinders, and in use

there

down to the times of the

The Arabs, knowing no

signets.

motive

for the

gave

of the one most frequently

other

is to be sought
Camahen, loadstone or

fibrous haematite, the usual material

for

name

used to the whole class and the Crusaders introduced it into all European
languages in this sense.
Matthew
Paris has lapides quos cameos vulgariter appellamus which marks its

time written Camahut,

in the Persian

their conversion into talismans,

the

engraving of stones than

THE EVIL
To

ruling superstition.

this

EYE.

113

and the next century ought

referred the large oval Jaspers engraved with the

figure of Osiris or

modern Hebrew

Ormuzd, and the

letters.

field

to

be

mummy-like

occupied with stars and

large amethyst, formerly in

my

pos-

engraved with the hawk-head, ithyphallic, Phre, holding

session,

on his extended right hand a small cynocephalus, and standing

on the coiled serpent, in the

field

|AW> was

a most remarkable

instance of this resuscitation of ancient ideas; for the execution

was worthy of the best times, furnishing in

itself a certain

that the work could not belong to the Gnostic

era.

such subjects do not

exist, for a sufficient

reason

the

of a talisman is quite as essential to its virtue as the

be engraved upon

it

so

material
sigil

to

the cause of which Camillo Leonardo shall

hereafter explain in his

were

proof

Pastes of

own

words.

Again, the genuine stones

cheap themselves, and the engravings produced so

expeditiously,

and with such

been worth while

little care,

to counterfeit

sole exception that has

them

that

it

would not have

in another substance.

my

come under

character of the stones thus employed

is

The

notice to the inferior

the singular tablet in

Garnet already described.

THE EVIL EYE

The

tyQovog.

power of the envious eye to inflict mischief

universal
amongst
the ancients. It is needless to adduce
was
belief in the

passages from the classics

to support this statement, for

even

mind working through the

eye amongst other crimes of the greatest heinousness. But the
actual manner of its operation upon the sufferer I have found
St.

Paul reckons

this action of the

nowhere explained, except

(iii.

8)

my

Tell me,

in the following passage of Heliodorus

good

prised, I replied,

if,

when she was

what

is

the complaint

You ought

not to be sur-

Calasiris,

that has attacked your daughter

leading the procession in

the presence of so vast an assemblage, she has drawn upon

herself some envious eye

you

then,

asked he,

Whereupon, smiling

ironically,

Do

like the vulgar in general, believe in the

1
For example, Apollonius Rhodius
makes a skilful use of the notion,
where he describes how Medea by

her basilisk-glance wrought the death

of Talus, the brazen

man, who de-

fended the Cretan coast.

THE EVIL EYE.

114

existence of such a fascination ?

fact,

I replied

us, passing, as it
nostrils, the

and the thing

were through a

breath,

As much
thns

is

as I

do in any other

this air that surrounds

through the eyes, the

strainer,

and the other passages into the inward

and the external properties rushing in together with it,

whatever be its quality as it flows in, of the same nature is the

parts,

effect that it disseminates in the recipients

one looks upon Beauty with envy, he

with a malignant property, and

fills

diffuses

so that

when any

the circumambient air

upon

his neighbour the

breath coming from himself replete with bitterness, and this,

being, as

it is,

of a most subtile nature, penetrates through into

the very bones and marrow.

into a true disease,

Fascination

Hence envy has

and has received the distinctive name of

Consider, too, Charicles, hovf many have

(/3a 7,01 via).

<

been infected with ophthalmia,

diseases, not

often turned itself

how many with

from any contact with those

other pestilential

from sharing

affected, or

the same bed or the same table, but merely from breathing the

same

and above everything

Let, too,

air.

be a support to

my

else,

argument, which owes

the origin of love

beginning to

its first

the sight, which shoots, like arrows, the passion into the soul

and

this

with very good reason,

of the body, the sight is the

fervent,

and therefore the most susceptible

emanations, by means of
itself

the visits of Love.

its

and senses

for of all the passages

most easily excited, and the most

as regards external

natural fiery spirit attracting to

And

if

you wish

for a proof

from natural history and recorded in the sacred books

yellow-hammer cures the jaundice

and

if

drawn

the bird

the person so affected

should but look at the bird, the latter at once endeavours to escape

and shuts

eyes, not, as

its

benefit to the sick

some think, because

man, but because

if

it

begrudges the

looked upon

it is

forced

by* its nature to attract the disease like an exhalation into

own body and therefore shuns

And of serpents the basilisk,
;

the glance as

to those

And

if

way by

some give the stroke of the

its

as a blow.

does not he, as you

heard, kill and blast whatever comes in his

breath alone

much

may have

his eye

evil eye

and
even

they love and are well disposed towards, one must not

be surprised, for people of an envious disposition do not what

they wish, but what their nature compels them

to.

'<r<rP

To face rage 115

TALISMANS AND AMULETS.

115

TALISMANS AND AMULETS.

Although these terms are usually confounded together, their
proper meaning

is

entirely distinct.

Talisman

is

hut the cor-

mouth of the Greek AiroreXeapLa, the

of a planet or sign upon the native ; l hence astrology is

ruption in the Arabian

influence
called

r)

Now

An oreXea fiamcr)-

the influence of every degree in

each sign was typified by a fantastic figure or group, painted

in the table

Myriogeneses.

of

Hence by a natural

name, Apotelesma, of the idea

it

was intended

talisman was therefore necessarily a

An

metal.

above quoted.)

(Scaliger, as

transition the symbol itself usurped the

to portray.

excellent illustrative example

that figured

is

Easpe, No. 354, where 2 Abraxas, carrying the Nile-vase,

by the ungrammatical invocation

circled

engraved in stone or

sigil

is

by
en-

Travrag avQpm-Kou

7rpoe

Give unto the bearers favour in the

Sorcu xaptv tolq (pepovcnv,

Hence the talisman served both to procure

from its possessor. The latter alone
the Amuletum, a word derived from amolior, to

sight of all men.

love,

and

to avert mischief

was the object

of

do away with, or

Many

to baffle.

natural
objects, both animal

and vegetable, the stranger they were the

of counteracting the all-dreaded Evil
striking example

is

Cyclamen

which ought

indeed true that where

power

to

harm

had

idea.

to

it is

this

power

and of such the most

fist

closed so

Pliny uses the word of the

be planted in every house,

if it

be

planted poisonous drugs have no

hence they

speaking of amber

better,
;

the fascinum or phallus, or the

convey an indecent

as to

Eye

call the flower Amuletum .

Again,
Infantibus adalligari amuleti modo prodest.

talisman not unfrequent, both

of these long

unknown

prayers in

and gems, against

this

tongues, which

influence, represents the dreaded

Eye

probably often contain a meaning of

the same nature as the above.

in bas-reliefs

itself as

the centre of a circle of sym-

bols radiating from

to

baffle

its

it,

effect.

and all tending

Thus a sard

(Praun gems) shows the Eye surrounded by a thunderbolt, lion, hare,

dog, scorpion, stag, serpent, and owl.
2

From

this

example we may be

able to conjecture the purport of

if

interpreted

would

A nostris Tuber Terrae vocatur

in omnibus serenda domibus,

ubi sata

si

verum

nocere mala
medicamenta, amuletum vocant narrantque et ebrietatem reprsesentari
est

sit

nihil

addita in vinum.

many
I

TALISMANS AND AMULETS.

116

The

up on a pole in the midst of a corn-field

was a potent amulet against blight and this usage long held its
ground in Tuscany, for Boccaccio makes an amusing use of it in
Again, Hesy chius records that Pisistratus set
one of his stories.
up in the Acropolis the figure of a grasshopper, or mule-cricket
(grillo), as a Karaxnvr), or charm against the Evil Eye; and this
2
insect is perpetually repeated upon gems with a similar intent.
skull of

an ass

set

That the custom of wearing talismans and

scrolls

spells , i.e .,

written with charms, and folded up within a small case of metal

or leather, for suspension,

Empire

was

as prevalent

as it still is amongst the Arabs

under the Lower

and African Moslems,

with their grigris, appears, not to quote others, from this

passage of Gregory Nazianzen (Or.

need of amulets and

spells, in

xl.

18)

Your

child has

no

company wherewith the Evil One

God of his glory amongst the lighterhim

Trinity (in baptism), that great and
the
minded give to
3
And the Greek epigrammatists, with whom.
glorious mystery.
robbing

enters,

also

Where the lady

uses

it

to tele-

their kingdom, adopted

the custom,

graph to her lover when her husband

is gone from home, by turning it in

substituting for the Ephesian charms

a particular direction.
2
It was only the first stroke of the
Evil Eye that was fatal hence whatever diverted it from the person in

being supposed of power to avert all

evil and mischief were called phy-

For

amongst Mohammedans, who employ

verses of the Koran with the similar

that

moment

destroyed

its effect.

such an end what could serve better

than anything odd, strange, obscene,
or unlikely to be exposed to view?
Hence the phallus naturally suggested
itself

among

the

lowed by other

first,

and was

objects

fol-

bearing

fancied analogy to the idea

it

con-

Thus

lacteries

(<pvXaKTripia ),

amulets.

The same

Law, which

safe-guards, or

notion yet exists

belief in their efficacy.

The Bulla, a gold case shaped like

a heart, worn round the neck by
Roman boys, was nothing but a
similar charm, and probably contained some written

spell,

for

the

usage came from the Etruscans hence

veyed.
3

certain verses out of the

to

protect oneself against

evil influences

was a practice going

back to times immemorial. Anaxilas

describes his Athenian fop as wearing
the Ephesian spell, handsomely
printed upon strips of parchment,
ev (TKVTapiois pairroKTi (bepav

Ecpema

'ypapLp.ara

na\a.

its

periphrasis

re-establishment of

Aurum.

poor had a similar amulet, but in

leather, nodus de paupere loro.

Besides the bulla, a number of other

objects made of thin gold plate, and
hollow, were strung about the

cliilds

neck, as their portraits often

show

from

their clinking together, termed

Crepundia.

The Jews, on the

Etruscum

The

TALISMANS AND AMULETS.

117

as with the wits of Molieres days, physicians

were ever

game, bring in the superstition for their benefit

for instance

fair
:

Epfxoyevr/ rov tarpov iS a>v Aio(f)avTOs ev vtvvols

ovicer avrjyepdrj kcu

tv ep Lappa (ftepcov.

In slumber sound

was Diophantus laid,

When a black dream Hermogenes portrayed
He saw the fateful leech, and woke no more,
Spite of the guardian amulet he wore.

Most

of the Gnostic stones

as amulets,

by

unfitted

and not

have clearly been intended

for setting in rings,

for

wear

which they are

for

I suspect that usually they

their large dimensions.

were carried loose in the pouch, or zona, to be produced when

required as credentials between the initiated, and a means of
i

ntroducing one illuminato or ami de

,

la lumiere, to

such a custom, derived from the more ancient

which the general

of

circulated

amongst his troops

the day, St. John evidently alludes in the passage,

overcometh

new

the

(i.e.

convert) will I give a white stone

the stone a new name written, which no

that receiveth

man knoweth

A plain allusion to the

it.

To
by means
the word for
To him that

the other.

tessera,

1
,

and in

save he

white carnelian (calce-

dony) convex gems, covered on both sides with interminable

legends, the attempt to interpret

which

will, after all his pains,

convince the antiquary of the truth of the sainted seers con-

person

is also

That they were merely carried about the

shown by the notice that the Princess Badouras

cluding declaration

talisman, a carnelian engraved with strange figures and letters,

was carried by her in a small purse, sewed on

to her jewelled

girdle.

As

to their actual manufacture,

Epiphanius records that Manes

besides his Mysteries and Treasury, wrote likewise a treatise

on Astrology

for these sectaries, adds the good father, are

so far from eschewing the forbidden art, that the head

of their boast is the science of astronomy
that is to say, things

ypr](pov

The

a prize,

seen

on

word BAINXm,
somef of these

stones, proves that they

were intended

and front

and, moreover, amulets,

worn round the neck

properly signifying a gem.

significant

(Periapta),

and

in-

to be given to

him that overcometh,

has passed through all the tests
preceding initiation.
i. e.,

Another and an independent

tes-

TALISMANS AND AMULETS.

118
cantations,

and such like trickery.

original sense is yet kept

when
his

the sick

man

at the last gasp, the attendants hind

is

That

all

round

Similarly, a

talismans were primarily intended to be tied upon, or

person, is sufficiently indicated

matters, viz.,

is

by the generic

Things for hanging

Periapta

in fact, the only Gnostic stone

antique mounting

Ked

for

round

be executed, thus prepares him to meet his death.

to

hung from the

name of such

of Periapta in their

head and arms certain knotted leather thongs.

Jew about

its

The use

up amongst the German Jews;

known

to

me

as retaining

one adapted for such a purpose.

Jasper, oval-shaped, engraved on one face with a

It is

mummy

head radiated, type of the soul released and glorified,

having

its

scribed

ABPACAZj

name below.

The

in-

on the other the usual figure of Iao with his

stone, not quite

an inch long,

is set

frame of gold, having a broad loop soldered on the

in a rude

top, for sus-

pension, exactly as in the huge medallions of the same date

(after Constantines reign).

This unique example exists amongst

the miscellaneous gems in the British

many and

I recognised

figured

Museum, where

also

the finest of the Gnostic engravings

more than two centuries ago by

the well-known rule that the

Chiflet

curiosities

another proof of

of the whole world

ultimately gravitate towards London, as their centre point of

Amongst

attraction.

these particular attention

is

due

to the

large oval sard above alluded to, covered with legends, agreeing

exactly with those on the Herz garnet and Chiflets calcedony

already introduced

a repetition proving the importance of the

formula, which was either intended for recital at a sacrifice or to

accompany the deceased

into his

tomb

for the

same purpose as

the several prayers prescribed in the Schema of the Ophites.

Another singular

relic

belonging to the later phase of the religion

a large egg-shaped calcedony, presenting the type of the lion-

is

headed man

1
,

surrounded by a long legend in the latest Palmy-

rene, or rather Cufic, character

the whole rude in the extreme,

and precisely agreeing with the style of the last Sassanian stamps.
timony to what an extent these designs were in their origin astrological
merely.
1

May

not this figure be the great

god of the ancient Arabians, Ourotal

(God of Light), whom Herodotus
takes for* Dionysus, and thus again
equivalent to the later Pater Bromius ?

Seal of

S.

Servatius

(p.

Maestricht Cathedral.
239.)

Jasper set in silver : actual size.

Obverse : the letters in the field seem intended
for O A (yLos) r(eopyios).
Reverse phonetic spelling for Motpa fieAcuvr]
cos ocpLs
a spelling of which other examples are known.
:

To face /'age 119.

WHERE FOUND AT

LOCALITIES

LOCALITIES

PRESENT.

119

WEEBE FOUND AT PBESENT.

These gems, plates of bronze and

lead, rude- medallions en-

graved with similar devices, and even tesserae in terra-cotta,

were placed together with the corpse in his

last resting-place, as

Of such medals, excessively rare, I

have figured (PL III. 5, XI. 4) two examples found in the south
of France. The collection that supplied me with them possesses,
a safeguard against demons.

or rather, alas
!

face of

and

possessed, also a large finger-ring in ivory, the

which presents the monogram

U), exactly as it

Constans and Magnentius, but

ABPACAZj

of Christ between the

figures on the coins of the Gallic princes

accompanied by the addition

showing that the owner regarded the two per-

sonages as one and the same divinity.

The tomb

of Maria, wife

of the most orthodox Honorius, contained a gold plaque engraved

with the names of angels, besides sundry strange figures carved

On

out of agate and crystal.

account of

its

singular interest as

the sole description extant of the rifling an imperial sepulchre, I

have subjoined Faunos

full

The antique cemeteries

abundance.

Gnosticism

and particular

details.

of Provence supply
early

took

root

them yet

and

in great

flourished

in

Southern Gaul, as the treatise of Irenseus directed against

attests

and

this, it

may be, in consequence of the

original sources bore to the Mithraic

Later

still,

great affinity

and the Druidical systems.

in the middle of the fourth century, a Gnostic sect,

the Priscillianists, spread rapidly over the same region.

religionists

it

its

took their

name from

their founder,

Bishop of Avila, in Spain, who was put

the British emperor

Magnus Maximus.

to

These

Priscillian,

death for heresy by

That Spain

also had,

long before Priscillians times, received and fostered the Basilidan

creed, though so remote from its fountain head, appears from a

passage in Jeromes 29th letter

Licinius,

when

to

Theodora

that most foul heresy of Basilides

Our

friend

was raging

throughout Spain, and like a plague and pestilence laying waste

1
The title indeed may have been
used here in its primary sense of
Blessed Name.

And

in

Seberts

coffin,

when

opened, lay his very episcopal ring,

for which he had chosen an Abraxas^
doubtless

recommended

to

him by

virtues Camillo shall enumerate.

the

RECOGNITION BY MEANS OF SYMBOLS.

120

the province between the Pyrenees and the ocean, held fast

all

the purity of the Churchs faith, far from receiving Armagel,

Barbelo, Abraxas, Balsamus, the ridiculous Leusiboras, and the

other similar monstrosities.

more than probable that such doctrines lurked unnoticed

amongst the original natives of Gaul during the reigns of the
It is

Arian Gothic kings, and did no more than revive and again
flourish vigorously in the

the twelfth century.

Manicheism of the Albigenses during

The mere

somewhat

later,

cruelly, like the

Waldenses

does not by any means prove them equally good

Protestants as the latter,

which most people nowadays take

for

(See Manicheism in the Middle Ages, p. 182.)

granted.

Some

having

fact of these sectaries

been persecuted by the Catholics so

traces of Gnosticism probably yet survive

amongst the

mysterious sects of Mount Lebanon, the Druses, and the An-

As

sayreh.

late as Justinians reign Procopius informs us that

above a million of Polytheists, Manicheans, and Samaritans (the

latter a Gnostic sect),

cutions carried on
fell

by

were destroyed in Syria during the persethis pedantic bigot

and, as that region

shortly afterwards under the dominion of the

Arabians,

who never

butaries so long as they paid

doctrines

may

more

tolerant

interfered with the religion of their tritheir tribute punctually, these

down

well have come

to the present day, con-

sidering the secluded position of the people and the vitality of

every well-defined system of religious ideas.

RECOGNITION BY MEANS OF SYMBOLS.

Our word Symbol
contribution of each

For

party.

is

curiously derived.

It properly

means a

member towards the cost of a Greek drinking-

this purpose every one pledged his signet-ring to

the caterer, and afterwards redeemed

it by paying his quota of

Hence the Romans of Plautuss time called the ring
itself symbolum.
As the signet was used for the most trustworthy of credentials, symbolum came to signify the credential

the expense.

itself

hence in ecclesiastical language symbolum stands for

Caylus figures (v. pi. 55) a right

of the natural size in bronze,

inscribed
J

hand

on the open palm with

TIP02 OTEAAYNIOT2,

2TMBOAON

RECOGNITION BY MEANS OF SYMBOLS.

At

121

modern

creed , e. g.

Symbolum Apostolicum.

Latinity,

degenerated into the sign expressive of any idea,

it

more particularly of one

little silver

Emblem

religious.

in

length,

again,

at

first

chasing, intended for letting into plate as an orna-

mentation of the surface

whence

the term Ey/3X?7ya

designs were always mythological, came,

by

as

the

a similar transition,

imply the allegorical expression for some personage of that

to

There

class.

is,

however, a difference in their meaning

emblem

expressing more fully, symbol merely hinting at the idea conveyed.

Thus, the emblem of victory

is

a winged female holding

a palm-branch, the symbol of victory the palm alone.

From

the very nature of things

it

was a necessity

bers of a secret society to have some

for the

mem-

means for recognising a

brother that should escape the detection of the uninitiated.

Certain passages in the classics have

made me

suspect that all

partners in the Eleusinian Mysteries were taught some such

Certain

secret.

it is

that our popular notion about the Masonic

grip was equally current in the days of Epiphanius, as applied

to the Gnostics.

On

the arrival of any stranger belonging to

the same belief they have a

and vice

versa.

sign,

given by the

man

to the

woman,

In holding out the hand, under pretence of saluting

manner under-

each other, they feel and tickle

it

in a particular

neath the palm, and so discover

if

the new-comer belongs to the

same

up

to

And

sect.

Thereupon, however poor they

him a sumptuous
after that

feast,

may

be, they serve

with abundance of meats and wine.

they are well

filled,

and begin

to

be merry, the

entertainer rises, leaves his wife behind, bidding her

thy charity unto this our brother, &c

to

an extent which, in our

Show

carrying his hospitality

selfish times,

no

brother

would have

the audacity to expect from the most enthusiastic upholder of

the fraternity.
It is curious to observe

how

Credentials to the Velaunii.

These
were a Gallic nation, situated near

Antibes.
closed,

The

wrist at the section is

forming a base, so that the

hand could stand of itself

A pair of clasped

upright.

hands

concord were usually

symbol of

sent from one

the Freemasons have retained

army to
Lingonum

Miserat

nation or

another.

ci vitas

veteri instituto

dona

legionibus dextras hospitii insignia

(Tac. Hist.

I.

54).

From the nature

of the case, such presents

must have
been made of the precious metals, and
therefore none have been preserved.

RECOGNITION BY MEANS OF SYMBOLS.

122

many

of the Gnostic figures in their symbolical pictures and

we

There

insignia.

at once recognize the erect serpent, the

hemispherical bowl, the inscribed columns, Solomons seal ; and

the suspended

famous Delphic

whom

misunderstood.

John

St.

is

their patron,

the ancient mystics claimed as their especial apostle.

All these emblems

over

in all likelihood, nothing more than the

is,

by the

may

sun, moon,

irresistibly reminding

yet be seen publicly paraded, presided

and

planets,

and combined in a fashion

one of a Basil dan diagram.

i

Nay more, on

by Dr. Walsh (pL 8), Michael actually

a hawk-headed and winged youth, holding in each

a basalt intaglio figured

appears as

hand a masons

level,

with the legend

AYNAMIC MIXAHA;

whilst the oft-repeated Harpocrates, with his finger on his

Free and Accepted.

lips,

demanded from the

significantly betokens the profound secrecy

Indeed, a distinguished

official

of the

craft,

in looking over the plates of Chiflets Apistopistus, confessed

to

me

his astonishment at recognizing there so

many

of the out-

ward and visible signs of his brotherhood. It must also be

borne in mind that our Freemasons claim descent from the Templars,

assert

whose name, indeed, the French branch yet keep up, and
an unbroken succession of GALs from the very foundation

of the Order, spite of its supposed extinction.

maintains that the

name Mason,

in

German

Lessing even

Masson, has nothing

whatever to do with the English meaning of the term, but comes

from the old word Massoney. a lodge of the knights ; called also
Messoney , or The

Bound Table,

for

which he

cites Agxicola,

an authority but a century removed from the suppression ok the

Order.
still

Hence the old Templar-churches

retain their title

della Magione, L

at
e.,

Bologna and Milan

de la Masson.

The Templars were suppressed by a Bull

of Clement Y., in

1312, extorted through the influence of Philippe le Bel, his

patron and master, on charges similar to those that had led to

the extirpation of the Albigenses exactly a century before.
these accusations there

was doubtless some

In

truth, although only

taken up as a pretext for confiscating the wealth of the Order,

which had long excited the cupidity of the necessitous sovereigns

of Europe.

Yon Hammer (Mines de

to substantiate,

lOrient, vi.) has

attempted

on the evidence of existing monuments,

all

the

SEPULCRUM MARL HONORII.

123

charges brought against the Order of sharing in the apostasy,

and impurity of the Gnostics, and also of the Ophites.

idolatry,

In

this,

following Nicolai, he contends that the Baphomet, the

pretended object of their worship, meant

fiatyri

Baptism

rjrtSoe,

of the Spirit

and he discovers an endless variety of Gnostic

emblems in the

bracteates

their preceptories,

of the Order.

by the bishops
Markgraves

turned up occasionally on the sites of

and in the sculptures adorning the churches

But the mystic coins are merely bracteates issued

of Suabia and Westphalia, and the Brandenburg

whilst the Baphomet, which, as

it is

set forth in the

indictment, they worshipped in the shape of an old mans head

with a long beard,

is

perhaps merely the name Mahomet, cor-

rupted in the mouths of the ignorant French witnesses.

this curious subject will

On

But

be discussed at length in the Section

the Preservation of Gnostic Symbols amongst the Free-

masons.

SEPULCRUM MARIM HONORII.

In February, 1544,
is now building

which

signed by Julius
coffin

to

II.,

in the chapel of the

King

in S. Peters, after the

of France

new

plan de-

they came upon, in excavating, a marble

which, from the things found therein, was clearly

known

be the tomb of Maria wife of the Emperor Honorius.

the corpse there was nothing indeed

and the two leg-bones.

hair,

woven with
silk

Of

save the teeth, the

the robes, which were inter-

and from the head-tire, which was a cloth of

gold,

and gold, there was extracted, by melting them, forty pounds

of the finest gold.

Within the

into three or four pieces, one

deep, with
scribe.

and

From

left

many

things inside which

There were vases and

little,

coffin lay a silver box,

and a half

thirty in all

foot long

we

broken

and eight inches

shall particularly de-

different articles in crystal, big

amongst which were like two cups, not

.very large, one round, the other of an oval shape, with most
beautiful figures in intaglio of middling depth (mezzo-cavo)

and a

snail-shell

(or rather nautilus), also of crystal, fitted

From M.

L. Faunos Ant. di

Roma

(ed. 1553), v. p. 154.

up

SEPULCRUM MARINE HONORII.

124
for a

lamp in

fine gold,

with which, in the

place, is cohered

first

over the mouth of the shell, there being only

middle for pouring in the

by a

fixed

nail, a

and uncovering

golden

oil

left a

hole in the

by the side of which hole is seen,

moves to and fro, for covering

fly that

In the same

this hole.

way

there

is also

the

nozzle with beak (pippio) for holding the wick, drawn out long

and sharpened with the greatest elegance, and

so fastened to the

crystal that it appears all one piece naturally.

cover

is

The shape

similarly well made.

encompassed

like a great sea-shell (a nautilus),

points,

its

which in

worked

excellently

this vase are polished

is

all

with certain

made big and squat

liquid, so

is

made

and

is

kinds

vases, one like those

and another

with jewels.

jewels set in

it.

kinds set in

it

it is

such like

a wonder to

Rome

to

draw water out

of the

supposed to be a vessel used by the ancients in

Next were four

their sacrifices.

and

in the shape of those brass ladles

with long handles serving at

cisterns , 1

also vases

animals, eight in

for holding oil or

made, so beautiful and thin, that

The other

behold.

is

around with

and very smooth, so

little

and amongst them two very beautiful

glass ampullae

all

There were

the crystal.

different articles in agate,

Moreover, the

of the snail-shell

little

little

little

vessels in gold, of different

vase in gold, with a cover set round

gold heart that had been a pendant, with

buckle of gold, with six gems of different

and twenty-four other buckles in

shapes, with little

gems

set in

them

gold, of various

and forty-eight rings and

hoops 2 of gold of various patterns, and one of them in red bone

with various gems.

Also three

little

animals in red bone,

two ear-drops in emerald or plasma, with two

small crosses with red and green stones.
of a

bunch of grapes, made of purple

gold pendants of different

little

sorts,

This was the Ligula, used to ladle

mixed wine and water out of the
standing crater.
2 Yerghe, verga, like the old French
verge, signifies the plain round wire
forming a ring, i. e., a plain hoop
1

the

jAlso

Four

A pendant in the form

stones.

with gems

gold crosses set with emeralds.

jacinths.

Eight other

set in

A piece

them

3
.

little

Three

of a small fine

without any head.

3 The remains of a string of creMaria died at the age of
pundia.
four, being so early affianced to the

young emperor.

SEPULCRUM MARINE HONORII.

125

necklace, with certain green stones strung upon

little

it.

Another

gold necklace, with twenty-two heads of plasma.

Another

necklace, with twelve heads of sapphires cut almond-shaped.

Another

little

necklace of gold wire, twisted up (raccolto), hut

Two

broken in four pieces.

small buttons in gold; fourteen

gold-wire rings, like those of a mail-coat; three more

little

with some emeralds

crosses,

Agnus Dei

(i. e.

around

letters

it

and a round gold plate

like

an

a disk three inches in diameter), with these

stilicho

Two

vivat.

bracelets (maniche or

maniglie) of gold, set with certain red and green stones.

Two

large pins or stiletti for the hair; one in gold nearly a

palm

long

(eight

inches),

inscribed

There were

tion.

heads

?),

partly

nails,

which had fastened a cover

dominvs

in silver, without inscrip-

also several fragments of emeralds

Also silver

stones.

words

with these

The other

honorivs domin'a maria.

and other

partly in relief (the

flat,

of silver

upon a

little coffer.

Also a small plate of gold, with these words written, or rather

scratched, in

Greek

michael

have particularly described

gabriel

Raphael

all these objects,

vriel.

We

because Claudian,

a poet of those times, declares that to the Empress Maria were

sent rare presents from Honorius her betrothed, which perchance

may have formed

the greater part of these things.

words of the poet

are,

Jam munera

The

exact

miptse

Prseparat, et pulcros Marise sed luce minores

Eligit ornatus
Livia,

quidquid venerabilis olim

divorumque nurus gessere

superbse.

This account enables us to form some notion of the treasures

deposited, in a greater or less degree, in all the tombs of im-

portant personages, more especially in Asia Minor.

sufficiently accounts for the furious onslaught

tombs

all

over the

Roman

It likewise

made upon the

world, as soon as the conversion of the

empire had destroyed the ancient veneration for the manes and
the abodes of the dead

a profanation which Gregory Theologus,

with a degree of taste and good feeling most unlooked-for in a

Greek

saint,

and often

has attacked in one hundred and eighty-two curious,

poetical, epigrams.

GNOSTIC TALISMANS PLACED IN SARCOPHAGI.

126

GNOSTIC TALISMANS PLACED IN SARCOPHAGI.

Some
coffin

light

may

be thrown upon the motive for placing in the

such formulae, inscribed, sometimes on tablets of lead or on

more commonly upon the stones we are now

plates of bronze, or

by Epiphanius (Haer. xxxvi.)

by which the Heracleonites prepared the dying
safe passage to the next world.
They sprinkled

considering, from the account given

of the ceremonies

brother for his

his

head with water mingled with

man

that the inner

oil

and opobalsamum,

by the Marcosians

peating the formula used

re-

in baptism, in order

might escape

of the defunct thus prepared

the vigilance of the Principalities and Powers, and mount up-

wards unseen by any,

They used

scended.

when

to the

Pleroma whence he originally de-

therefore to instruct the dying man, that

his soul *came before the

form

after this

existing,

to address

them

and the son in the present time, am come to behold

things, both of others

others,

Powers he was

the son from the Father, the Father pre-

I,

and

my

but belonging to Achamoth (Wisdom),

and hath created them

all

own, and things not altogether of

for herself.

who

But I deduce

is

feminine

my own

origin

from the Pre-existent One, and I am going back again unto

own, from whence I have descended.

By

my

virtue of this formula

he will escape the Powers and reach the Demiurgus in the eighth
sphere,

whom

he must address with the words, I

vessel, superior to the female

Power that made you

am
:

a precious

inasmuch as

your mother knows not her own origin, but I know myself and

know whence I am, and I invoke the incorruptible Wisdom,

who is in the Father, and is the mother of your mother that hath
I

no

nay more, not even a male partner, but being a female

father,

springing from a female hath created you, though she herself

knows not her own mother, but

But I invoke her Mother} At

Achamoth,

Zoroaster, the

the Sapandomad

Wisdom

Jews, whose nature

in

Wisdom

is

the spirit

believes herself to exist alone.

this address the

Demiurgus

is

of

pure emanation of the brightness of

of the later

the Almighty; the brightness of the

described

eternal light, the mirror without spot

She
25
of the virtue of God, the

of his majesty, the image of his good-

of

is fully

Solomon

vii.

ness, &c.

The Yenus Anadyomene,

FORMULAE FROM DIAGRAMMA OF THE OPHITES.

127

confounded, and forced to acknowledge the baseness of his origin

man

thereupon the inner

of the believer casts off his

bondage as

well as the angel or soul (which abides with the Demiurge), and
ascends himself to his
of body, soul,

own

is

made up

more

spiritual

For each person

place.

and the inner man, the

last of the

nature.

If the above-mentioned tablets could be decyphered, it

may

well be supposed that their contents would prove of a similar

character to these passports to the Pleroma

would be but a

it

natural attention on the part of the survivors to furnish their

departed friend with a correct copy of such long and obscure

professions of faith,

which otherwise would be extremely apt

to

escape his memory, the more particularly as they seem only to

have been communicated to him by his spiritual guides when he

was already

at the last gasp.

FORMULAE FROM DIAGRAMMA OF THE OPHITES.

The motive

for providing the defunct brother

these imperishable credentials

is

with a supply of

clearly indicated in the formula

by the
Thus in the address to
Ildabaoth we find, 0 principal spirit of the Pure Intelligence,
perfect work in the eyes of the Father and of the Son, in preof prayers to be addressed to the Seven Planetary Powers

released soul in its heavenward flight.

senting to thee in this seal 2 the sign of

by thy power

to the world,

Again, addressing lao

of the Father

life,

I open the gate closed

and freely traverse thy domain.

Thou that presidest over the mysteries

and of the Son, who shinest in the night, 3 holding

the second rank, the

first

master of death,

&c., in

presenting thee

thy own symbol, I swiftly traverse thy domain, &c.

To Sabaoth Keceive me, beholding this pure symbol against

with

this

naked female, on our gems,

the

of the corpse seven pieces of paper,

adaptation of the ancient Greek type

each containing a prayer to be used

by his spirit in certain regions through

or

is

to this idea.

origin of this may be traced

custom remarked by Tavernier,
as existing among the Indians (whence
many of such rites emanated), that
the Brahmin placed upon the breast
1

The

to the

which

it

had

to pass after leaving the

body.
2

This explains the acppayis so often

inscribed on our gems.

3

Taking lao

for the

Lunar

genius.

FORMULAE FROM DIAGRAMMA OF THE OPHITES.

128

which thy genius cannot prevail

the type,

Oreus

it

me

Let

annihilated

the body delivered

is

by

made

it is

by the Peutad.

To

And be

Orai, or

thy power

pass, for thou seest the symbol of

the sign of the Tree of Life.

image of

after the

it

remem-

bered, that the primary signification of symbolum was the impres-

which sense

sion of a signet, in

it is

most probable the word

used in the passages just adduced.

in this

may be

It

is

conjectured that

conversion of the symbolum into a passport to heaven

originated the use of the term in theology to signify a creed or

summary of the articles of faith.

The soul, on its departure from the body, has
the regions of the Seven Powers, which

impregnated with knowledge (Gnosis)

otherwise

swallowed up by the dragon-formed 2 ruler of

voided through his

back again upon

tail

a swine or other brute, and repeats

through

to pass

cannot do unless fully

it

seized and

it is

this world,

earth,

where

it

career once more.

its

and

is

animates

But

if

with knowledge it escapes the Seven Powers, tramples

upon the head of Sabaoth (of whom they say he has the hair of a
woman), and ascends to the eighth heaven, the abode of Barbelo

filled

The Gospel

the Universal Mother.

of St. Philip contained

another formula to be addressed to the Powers in order to obtain

a free passage The Lord hath revealed unto me what words the
:

soul

must use when

it

answer each of the Ileavenly Virtues

self,

and have

how it must
have known my-

ascendeth unto heaven, and

collected myself

from

thus

all

parts; neither have

begotten sons to the Euler of the world, but have plucked up his
roots,

and gathered together the scattered members

who thou
having

art, for

left

am

one from above.

any offspring upon

But

if

earth, it is detained

know thee

convicted of

below until

it

has collected all of them and attracted them within itself. This
collection of itself was obtained by the observance of perpetual
chastity, or rather

(by the usual compensation) of

all

the unnatural

vices that invariably spring from such an article of faith.

If,

however, a female of the congregation should by mistake allow

herself to

become pregnant, the

caused abortion

and

Tree sometimes figured on these stones?

Satan Ophiomorphos.

Is this the Cross, or the actual

2

elders

MEDIAEVAL TALISMANS.
taking the foetus pounded

it

in a mortar, together with honey,

Then

pepper, and other spices and perfumes.

tion of swine
into the

we have

The above

the exact manner in

is

his finger

This they termed the Perfect Pass-

it.

We have

cupiscence, but

brother.

congrega-

this

and dogs assembled, and each dipping

mess tasted of

over, saying,

129

not been deceived by the Euler of Congathered up again the backsliding of our
copied (omitting certain particulars as to

which the vow of perpetual chastity was in one

He

sense observed) from the very plain-spoken Epiphanius.

joins the singular explanation, then current, of the antique

about Saturn devouring his

own

sub-

myth
and

offspring, against which,

the practice thereon founded, Clemens Alexandrinus also had

deemed

it

necessary to warn his flock so long before.

tration of the

punishment

In

illus-

and so

for leaving offspring behind,

doing the work of the Demiurgus, they told a wild legend that
Elias himself had been rejected from the gates of heaven, though
to his

own

conscience a pure virgin, because a female

demon had

gathered up his seed and formed infants therewith, which, to

his confusion, she there

Hence the

produced in testimony.

origin of the Succubae in later times, although they

were sup-

posed to do the work of their father the devil in a different way,

connected with his supposed relations to the witches, whose lover

he was

ex-officio.

MEDIAEVAL TALISMANS.
Certain Gnostic figures and holy names 1 continued to enjoy a

high reputation during the Middle Ages.

that period Camillo Leonardo, in his
treatise

lays

on the virtues of

down

this rule

At

the very close of

Speculum Lapidum, or

and of the

stones,

Magical

sigils cut

and necromantic

upon them,

figures bear

no

resemblance to the Signs or Constellations, and therefore their

virtues are only to be discovered
ticular arts, viz.

by persons versed in those

magic and necromancy: yetis

that the virtue of the figure

may be

1
Indeed the inexplicable adros
vdros, the most popular in the list,
seems derived from the address to

it

par-

most certain

partly learnt from the quali-

Chnuphis, apros
ptyei

ireivij

Thou art bread

water to the thirsty,

v8 wp

Suf/rj

to the

fire to

tt vp

hungry,

the cold.

MEDIAEVAL TALISMANS.

130
ties possessed

by the stone

it is

same stone often possesses

And inasmuch

cut upon.

as the

different properties, so figures are

found made up of parts of different animals expressing the

various virtues of the

my

gem

This

itself.

is

apparent in a jasper of

own, which represents a figure with the head of a cock, a

human body
other,

clad in armour, a shield in one hand, a

and serpents instead of legs

virtues inherent in the jasper,

spirits,

fevers

all

which

and dropsies, check

whip in the

expressive of the various

are, to drive

away

evil

prevent conception,

lust,

render the wearer victorious and beloved, and stanch the flow-

ing of blood.

All such figures are of the greatest virtue and

potency.

The

names Iao and Sabao were at last degraded into

mere charms for making fish come into the net. The Mediaeval
doctors read Iao as Aio, and construing it as representing the
sacred

sound of the peacocks cry, promised wonderful

effects

from a

stone engraved with the bird, having a sea-turtle below, and the

word inscribed in the

There

is

field.

an amulet against the plague

still

current in

Germany

(perhaps the last surviving representative of this class of inscriptions),

engraved thus on a thin silver plate

The numerals added

together downwards, across, or from

comer

same sum (34) though why that number

should have any special virtue is beyond my powers of explanation.
This tablet appears suspended over the head of Melan-

to comer, give the

choly in A. Durers famous engraving

a proof of

its

importance

MEDIAEVAL TALISMANS.

What

in his days.

met with

On

this

131

did there had long puzzled me, until I

it

account of

virtue in J. Kerners little tract

its

Amulets.

The extreme barbarism

that

marks the execution of many

Gnostic stones would lead one to suspect that the manufacture

of

them survived long beyond the date commonly assigned for

The mechanical

the extinction of gem-engraving in Europe.

processes of this art are so easily acquired, and the instruments

employed in

it

cessation in

its

so simple

and inexpensive, that the

any age must have been the end of the demand

But the Arab astrologers under the Caliphate

for its productions.

continue to speak of talisman-makers and their

ing

sole cause of

mode

the Manichean branch of Gnosticism flourished

of proceed-

down

so far

Middle Ages, and subsequently the old symbolism was

into the

taken up and improved upon by the alchemists and astrologers,

that

some of the extremely barbarous works, in which every trace

of ancient art

is

extinct,

century,

describing the virtues of the sard, turquois, and

beryl, directing certain figures to

endow the

Examples of such gems

We actually find Marbodus in the eleventh

XI. 3 a.

when

partly be referred to ages long pos-

Western Empire.

terior to the fall of the

are PI. II. 6

may

be cut upon them in order to

stones with supernatural powers.

This he would

hardly have done had the art of gem-engraving been entirely

extinct at the time he wrote

was

really the case,

we

using the expression,

and such a

for at a later period,

when such

find the Mediaeval philosophers always

if

a stone be found engraved with such

thus showing that they were entirely de-

figure

pendent upon chance for the acquisition of such precious

and that they had no

artists

articles,

within reach capable of executing

on gems the potent designs prescribed by Eabanus Maurus,

Chael, and Ragiel.
that

gave them

It

was not the antique origin of the gems

their mystic virtues, although Camillo Leonardo

ascribes the devising of their sigils to the children of Israel in

the wilderness

and hence the popular Mediaeval name of Jews

for we have abundance of inscrip-

Stones for intagli in general

tions, talismanic

date.

and medicinal, cut on metal rings of Gothic

Inasmuch as gems, from

their inherent virtues,

esteemed an infinitely more potent vehicle

for

were

such spells than

k 2

MEDIAEVAL TALISMANS.

132

the neutral metal, the very fact of such devices never occurring

on the former substances conclusively proves the existing

in-

capacity of the times for bringing such into use.

The most complete example known of a Medieval talisman is

by Caylus (VI. PI. 130). It is a gold ring, a plain

that given

four-sided hoop, weight 63 grains, found in cutting peat a league

Each

from Amiens, in 1763.

bardic

letters,

side is occupied

by a

line in

Lom-

seemingly in barbarous Greek mixed up with

various Gnostic titles

+oegvttaa+sagra+hogogka+iot1ie+henaveat.
+ OCCINOMOC + ON+ IKC + HOGOTE + BANGYES + ALPHA + 7IB.
+ANA+EGNETON+AIRIE+OIRA+AGLA MEIDA+ADONAI.
+hlERNAThOT + CEBAI 4 GVTGVTT A + ICOThlN 4- i
.

Most

popular of the

class

Kings of Cologne
Baltasar.

words

sound of

the three

Magi

Guttu

again,

for

adorning

were the names of the three

:

Caspar or Jaspar, Melchior,

Others in frequent use were the

Anazajpta

Madros.

Gothic times

in

rings, usually along the shank,

Guttu

now

Thebal

inexplicable

Ebal

Adros

The latter formula apparently represents in Latin the

the Hebrew words meaning, Time, time, the world,

vanity, I will seek after, the sought,

convey the precept,

will seek after that
(Hasres. xxv.), as

Time

which

we have

which may be supposed

is transitory,

is

the world

worthy the search.

is

to

vanity, I

Epiphanius

already observed, laughs at the fond-

ness of the Gnostics for employing as religious formulae of

mighty virtue certain Hebrew words, the sound of which had

In these long talismanic legends

GVGV seem to occur as a
matter of necessity. I add two very
complete examples of the formula.
The first covers the shank of a silver

underneath 4-AOTVO

ring of the 14th century ; the circular

face hearing, in disjointed letters, the

conjecture

the letters

Ave

Maria,

+YRYRRAGVGVGVBERALT

ERAMIALPLAIZERAE. The second, a

silver ring-brooch ( Waterton Coll.), has
on the upper side 4-EZERA.EZERA.
ERAVERAGAN. + GVGVGVRALTERANI
ALPHA ET. id. and on the flat surface
.

NO OIO MO O

OIO AV.

The

last

line

seems

common

Gnostic formula badly copied, or metamorphosed by long tradition.

may

be hazarded that the

rest are Arabic grigris, verses from
the Koran perhaps, written according
to the

corrupt pronunciation of the

The Moors of Spain were
the great masters in alchemy and

maker.

medicine in the age producing these

ornaments.

MEDIAEVAL TALISMANS.

133

struck their ear as fraught with deep import, though in truth of

For

utterly trivial meaning.

instance,

Attempting to impose

upon the imaginations of the unlearned by the terror of the

names, and the

barbarian sound of the appellations,

fictitious

they give to one of the Powers the

from Isaiah
hope.

xviii., signifying

title

Caulaucauch

nothing more than

words

Hope upon

The importance attached

to the

names of the three Magi

is

probably connected with certain reminiscences of the ancient

Mithraic worship

the more so if

we

accept Seels plausible

hypothesis, already noticed, that under this form- early Christi-

Germany without

anity grew up in Gaul and

it

may have had

itself

molestation

or

a somewhat more recent origin in Manicheism,

but a heresy springing out of the Zoroastrian religion

Manes himself having been executed

by the

as a schismatic

decree of an oecumenical council of the Magi, convoked in order

to consider his doctrines.

what an important part

in his Gospel

now

It

When

lost.

public cannot be ascertained

them mentioned

may

therefore well be imagined

his professional brethren the

in the

their

Magi played

names were

to find

Gospel of the Infancy, which contains

names

so full an account of their visit to Bethlehem, but no

They came

are there given.

made

first

one would have expected

thither in consequence of a pro-

phecy of Zoradasht and received from Mary, in return

,

offerings, the Infants swaddling-clothes,

which on

for their

their return

home, when the envoys were examined by the kings and princes,
remained unconsumed in the midst of a great

fire

a prodigy

received as a convincing proof of the truth of their report

The notion

that the three

Kings typify each one

On

their return their kings and

came to them inquiring what
But
they had seen and done ?
1

princes

they

produced

the

swaddling-cloth

which St. Mary had given to them

on account whereof they kept a feast,
and having according to the custom of
;

country made a fire they worshipped it.

And casting the swaddling-cloth into it, the fire took it and
kept it. And when the fire was put
their

1
.

of the three

out they took forth the swaddlingcloth unhurt, as much as if the fire

had not touched it. Then they began

to kiss it and put it upon their heads
and their eyes, saying, This is certainly an undoubted truth, and it is
really surprising that the

not burn

fire

could

and consume it/ Then

they took it and with the greatest
respect laid it up amongst their treasures.

it

Chap. III.

MEDIAEVAL TALISMANS.

134

the

ancient divisions of the earth

first

being painted as an

European, the second as an Asiatic, the third as a Negro

seems

borrowed from some ancient representation of the same regions,

so personified, attending at the Birth of Mithras, or the Natale

on December 25th.

Invicti,

Hence the

by the

specified

a cave

Matthew

men

is

nowhere

Evangelists, or in the Apocryphal Gospels.

derivation of their

place yet

of their

restriction

number to three, although that of the wise

shown

names has been already attempted.

as the scene of their adoration at

The
The

Bethlehem

most unlikely place under the circumstances

is

(in fact

distinctly calls it the house), but a necessary situa-

tion for the Mithraic ceremonial.

B-

PPN- E-N-A-

cut on a brass or iron ring, set with

a green jasper engraved with a mans head, procured, according

to Solomon, all kinds of blessings to the -wearer, protection in
travel, success at Court, &c.

against epilepsy

so

was the

S Nazarenus was a charm

verse,

Vulnera quinque Dei sunt medicina mei.

Again, I H S autem transiens per medium illorum ibat

was a safeguard against all dangers in travelling by sea or land.
Edward III. took it for the motto upon his gold noble in memory
of his miraculous escape in the great naval battle off Sluys

an

event also commemorated by the type of the obverse, the King

fully

armed standing in

his ship.

Moreover, in the same age,

the motto, being construed in an alchemical sense, yas believed

to refer to the fact that

Raymond

Lully, reputed possessor of the

philosophers stone, had made (through the Kings compulsion,

who kept him

shut up in the Tower) the entire amount of gold

required for this

new

Equally popular,

coinage.

too,

was the

figure of St. Christopher cut

on

the metal ring, and that for the best of reasons, as long as folks

put faith in the distich,

1
The so frequent eber diaber are
known to be the initials of two verses

of a

Psalm (Latin) potent against the

plague

a fact

elucidating

similar

formulae.
Mottoes so composed go
back far; witness the famous banner
that gave its name to the Maccabees.

GEMS OF THE ORTHODOX CHRISTIANS.

135

Christophori faciem die quocunque tueris,

Illo

nempe

Another notable

die

mala morte non morieris.

spell against epilepsy

rather the Egyptian Tan)

was the

letter

(or

and the words ananizapta dei emmanvel.

In the Devonshire Collection

an antique cameo converted into

is

an amulet by such an addition in Mediaeval times.

GEMS OF TEE ORTHODOX CHRISTIANS.

There

is

something very grand in

St.

Johns vision of the

angel ascending from the east, having the signet of the living

God ,

wherewith

to seal

upon their forehead

Miinter, in his interesting treatise,

all

the elect.

Die Sinnbilder der Christen,

conjectures that this seal, as presented to the Apostles mind,

was the monogram of

Christ, the

and

combined, afterwards

in such favour with the early Christians for a similar use, either

simple or converted into the form of a cross or an anchor.

But

the seer would certainly not have applied the title of the

living God, appropriated to Jehovah, to the Saviour, his

Lamb, or Son of

Man . 2

Hebrew name,

This

He

title,

which

is

but the trans-

that is,

makes

the four

Hebrew

it more than
probable that the device, His Fathers Name, on the seal was

lation of the

the mighty Tetragrammaton,

i.

e.

letters

com-

posing the Holy Name, ever esteemed of such potency amongst

the Eastern nations

3
.

The Jewish author

1
An ancient tradition makes this
impress the mystic Tau that symbol
originally Egyptian, and adopted into

the Bacchic mysteries, whatever he

its

In the painted glass of

Denys, the Angel is shown stamp-

standing upon

St.

on the forehead of the

it

elect;

SIGNYM TAT

This mark is commonly borne by St. Antony, an

Egyptian recluse be it remembered,
.

and

in the early

always
2

Greek paintings

is

xiv. 1, which exwhat was the stamp

overlooked

pressly declares

there

foreheads .

It will be noticed here

that the Seer alludes to the present
Oriental mode of sealing, by inking

the stamp, and so printing its device

upon the document to be attested the

wax for such a purpose being

unknown to them.

use of

blue.

It is strange that Miinter should

have

is

God in their foreheads, and now

John describes the same as having
Sis Fathers Name written in their

our

S.

the legend explaining the subject as

Mount Sion

accompanied by the hundred and forty

and four thousand sealed by the Angel
who in vii. 3, sealed the servants of

true purport.

ing

of the Apocalypse

impressed by this signet.

The Lamb

Such was engraved on the famous

Solomon that made him omni-

seal of

potent over all the genii.

GEMS OP THE ORTHODOX CHRISTIANS.

136

would have rejected

as a

blasphemy the use of the Greek cha-

racters to form so sacred a symbol.

At
of

appears most strange that amid this vast multitude

monuments, more or less connected with Judaism and Christi-

anity,

first it

works

of a purely orthodox character should

tremely rare that Chabouillet, in his

list

be so ex-

French

of the grand

Collection, is only able to indicate four belonging to the period

of the

Roman Empire, and

those only the most ordinary types

the Good Shepherd, Dove, Fish, and Chrisma, or Sacred Mono-

But

gram.

this difficulty is explained

by several

considerations,

the strongest one being the horror of idols imbibed by the

converts from their teachers, themselves
education.

first

Jews by origin and

Thus, even in the second century,

we

find

Clemens

Alexandrinus giving this advice to the Christians (Paed. iii. 11)

Let the engraving upon the gem of your ring be either a dove,

or a

fish,

or a ship running before the wind, or a musical lyre,

the device used by Polycrates, or a ships anchor, which Seleucus

had cut upon

fishing, the

his signet.

And

if

the device represent a

man

wearer will be put in mind of the Apostle, and of

drawn up out of the water.

For we must not

we are forbidden even to
look at nor a sword or a bow, for we are followers of peace
nor a drinking goblet, for we are sober men. Yet many of the
the

little

children

engrave on

it

images of idols which

licentious world

wear engravings of

mistresses in their rings, so that not

their

even

if

naked minions and

they would can they

any time enjoy a respite from the torments of

at

must wear but a single one

rings

we must

cast aside.

desire.

for the use of a signet

In the above

list,

We

all other

the phrase

little

drawn up out of the water contains a plain allusion to

but
the story and the name of Moses attractus de aquis
children

certain zealous ritualists have

nition of infant baptism

espied therein an early recog-

practice

His mother Laodice dreamed that

had conceived a son by Apollo,
and that the god left with her his
ring, in acknowledgment of his paterOn awaking she found in her
nity.
bed a ring engraved with an anchor
1

she

unknown

in the Christian

was afterwards
upon the thigh of
the infant when bom, and therefore
was adopted as the hereditary device
and the same

figure

discovered stamped

of his descendants for

many

tions afterwards (Justin, xv.).

genera-

GEMS OF THE ORTHODOX CHRISTIANS.

137

Even a whole century later,

Gregory Nazianzen, in his Sermon on Baptism/ urging the
necessity of receiving it at the commencement of life, and the
sin of postponing it until the last sickness (which had grown the
general custom for the purpose of thus washing away all the
Church in our

writers

age.

sins of the past life at once), fixes three years of age as the fittest

time, evidently because some sort of oral confession

was

still

required from the candidate for admission into the Christian

body
and

Again, Augustine, though his mother Monica was a

1
.

clearly,

saint,

from what he relates of her, excessively scrupulous

in all religious matters, yet he did not receive baptism until his
thirty-third year,

and then in company with his own natural son

Adeodatus, himself fifteen years old.

Of the Saviour no ancient

portraits exist

on gems, except in

the class of Byzantine cameos, although the Imperial Russian

Collection 2 does boast of a head of Christ, a fine intaglio on emerald

which the legend

to

is

attached that

Emperor

Pilate as a present to the

actually

what

is

pretended,

it

it

was engraved by order of

Tiberius.

If the portrait be

must be a production

of the Cinque-

cento school, which has left us an abundance of Scriptural subjects admirably executed in the

have always suspected that this

by

Chiflet,

most precious materials.

But I

the identical emerald figured

is

No. Ill, as the head of Christ crowned with thorns,

though he takes

it for

Serapis, seen in front,

a Gnostic work.

It is in reality a

head of

and crowned with Persea boughs, easily

mistaken for thorns, though the modius on the head leaves no

doubt as to the real personage intended, even

of the

work did not disprove a Gnostic

origin.

if

the excellence

That the ortho-

dox, during the ages capable of producing a fine gem-portrait of

Gregorys words are (Orat. xl. 28),

wilt thou say concerning

child to have heard some religious in-

opinion that you should wait for the

and to make an answer, even

though not fully comprehending it;
but still in this way to mould and
sanctify their souls and bodies by the
great mystery. He censures the common practice to wait for 30 years
of age before receiving baptism in

completion of three years, either a

imitation of our Lords example.

But what
those

still

infants ?

Assuredly

yesin

the case of danger threatening

for it

be sanctified without perception than to depart unsealed and

is better to

uninitiated.

beyond or a

when

it

may

Otherwise, I give

my
little

under that time,

be competent for the

little

struction,

Or the

cathedral of Moscow.

GEMS OF THE ORTHODOX CHRISTIANS.

138

the Lord, would have regarded as impious and idolatrous any

such attempt,
xxvii.),

evident from a passage in Epiphanius (Haeres.

is

who

brings

it

as a grave charge against the Carpo-

and

cratians that they kept painted portraits, and even gold

silver images,

and

and made by Pilate

portraits of Jesus,
at

which they pretended

in other materials ,

them

These they keep in

with others of Pythagoras, Plato, and Aristotle

them all up

setting

together, they worship

after the Gentiles fashion.

he

after the likeness of Christ,

what time he sojourned amongst men.

secret, along

to

and offer

Hence

it

sacrifice

and
unto

follows that if an-

cient representations of the Saviour do exist, they must have

proceeded from an extremely suspicious source.

(See

Heads

of Christ.)

The

earliest

emblems of the Saviour which the Christians

The

allowed were the Good Shepherd, the Lamb, and the Fish.
reason for selecting the two

use of such similitudes

last is

much more

by

first is

self-evident in the frequent

the Evangelists

obscure, and

but the origin of the

it is difficult

to conjecture

why

the figure of a fish should have been held in such honour by the
Christians even of the primitive ages.

The only

satisfactory

explanation seems to be the circumstance that in the quaint

jargon of the

The

Fish.

Talmud the Messiah is often designated Dag, or

The sign of his coming, says Abarbanel, is the

conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter in the sign Pisces.

Three

fishes interlaced into a triangle is a frequent Mediaeval decora-

tion

but after some pious Greek had discovered, doubtless by

word

special revelation according to his contemporaries, th*at the

I.X.0.Y.2. was

X pujToe

Oeov

The word

the resultant of the initials in the title

Y toe

itself,

2wr??p,

I tjgovq

the type acquired infinite importance.

consisting as

it

does of jive letters, that most

virtuous number, became as efficacious as the actual figure, and

holds a place amongst other charms on the Gnostic amulets.

Its

admission amongst the formulas of that syncretistic religion had

1
This quotation is valuable, showing as it does that even as late as the
year 400, it was considered an atrocious
sin to attempt to represent the bodily

appearance of Christ.

Perhaps these

idols of the Carpocratians furnish the

rude crucifixes discovered sometimes

nothing else of that
date is extant in the shape of a portrait.

in the Catacombs

GEMS OF THE ORTHODOX CHRISTIANS.

perhaps a source more antique than the discovery of
ing the Christian confession of

faith.

139

its

embody-

The Rabbins,

in their

materialistic dulness, lacked the genius to invent

even a name

they could only distort and vulgarise notions borrowed from

Now

their masters the Chaldeans.

from time immemorial the

Syrians held sacred the fish of the Euphrates, or perhaps fish

generally, as

was the case with the Egyptian priesthood

believed that leprosy was the punishment of all

eat thereof.

who

and

dared to

Athenseus quotes a curious passage from a comic

by every one who

upon a dunghill,

writer, describing the penance submitted to

had transgressed the law,

being covered with

boils.

sitting in sackcloth

The

early converts; for

it

uncommon

frog, a not

was adopted

for a heathens signet, often

comes into the

list

device

such a use by the

for

of

emblems of the

resurrection of the body, on account of the complete change of

nature

it

goes through in the second stage of

its

existence, from

was a very ancient emblem, and the

type of many Greek coins. Frogs and snakes figured on the
a fish to a quadruped.

It

basis of the bronze palm-tree dedicated

by

the Corinthians to

Phoebus or the Sun, where Plutarch interprets their presence as

typifying the Spring (De

The

British

Delphico. 10).

Museum gems

comprise some highly curious and

authentic examples in this very restricted department.

most interesting among them

is

Red Jasper

The

intaglio, set in

an

antique gold ring, the shank formed of a corded wire in a pattern

both novel and elegant.

characters

On

is

engraved in neat

IHCOYC 0EOY YIOC THPE,

Jesus, thou Son

of God, keep us.

the stone

Another, of equal interest, and belonging to

the earliest days of our religion,

is

the Fish cut in a fine emerald

(quarter of an inch square), and set in an exquisitely moulded

six-sided gold ring, with fluted

The

little

offerings

fishi

made

to Atergatis were

of gold

thrown into the sacred

nilius

and
lake.

silver,

Ma-

supplies the reason for such a

dedication;

his Venus, the Assyrian

Urania or Mylitta, took the form of a

fish, and hid herself in the Euphrates to
escape the pursuit of Typhon. Hence,

and knotted shank imitating a

according to his masters, the Magi,

came the sign Pisces.

Mar. Empiricus

prescribes for the colic the wearing a

made from gold-thread melted

down, and engraved with a fish or
dolphin, the shank inscribed 0eos

ring

/ceAeuet

firj

Kveiu ko\ov ttovov.

GEMS OF THE ORTHODOX CHRISTIANS.

140

bent reed; the same pattern as the bronze ring figured by

Caylus. 1

bears the

the

and large Sapphire, extremely convex,

beautiful

monogram

of Christ

somewhat modified, the

shaft of

being converted into a Cross by a line traversing

horizontally.

The beauty and value

perhaps imperial, of

its

of the

original possessor.

it

gem

attest the rank,

Sard presents a

singular device, the Cross planted upon the Fish, with two doves

perched on the extremities of the arms, and the name

An

repeated above and below them.

unique subject,

IHCOYC
if

genuine,

Good Shepherd in the midst of a landscape, done on a

Sard much after the manner of the Gnostic work, so very easily
imitated by a modern hand.
So uncommon are gems presenting Scriptural subjects, that
can with any probability be assigned to the date of the Western
the

is

Empire, that two such now placed amongst the camei (Mediaeval
Class)

demand

into Jerusalem attended

by three

Madonna and Child

the
side,

These are Christs Entry

particular notice.

seated,

figures, bearing

palms: and

an angel standing at each

two others hovering overhead. Both are intagli in Green

manner of the rudest Abraxas gems. 2

Jasper, and cut in the

The same

case contains

two Byzantine Christian camei of un-

usually neat work, and on that account possibly dating as far

back as Constantines reign.

name

in

monogram

The

first is

length, cut on a splendid Sardonyx, the

the robe light-brown,

Annunciation,

is

John the Baptist

the

inscribed on each side of the figure, a full

on a dark sard

indubitably stamped

by

very earliest monuments of Christian

body in bluish-white,
field
its

art.

the other, the

design as one of the

The Virgin

stands

slightly inclining towards the angelic messenger, here represented

in the form and stature of a Cupid, a relic of antique taste

not

shape of a perfect man, afterwards adopted in representations of the scene; and for the assumption of which A1
in the

Beidawi assigns so material a motive (Comment, on Koran,

XIX.

or

Mary).

In this cameo the figures in

half-relief are

fairly executed in pearly-white upon a black ground, size small,

No.
2

Recueil dAntiquites,

iv.

pi.

76,

5.

It is possible, however, these

may

belong to the very rare mediaeval

attempts at gem-engraving that preceded the Revival.

GEMS OF THE ORTHODOX CHRISTIANS.

x

only f

Over the

f inch.

OXAIPETICMOC, The
the

MP

monogram

neatly cut legend

figures is a

Salutation,

TABPIHA, and

and

Mother of God.

Y,

141

Both these camei

formerly belonged to the Herz Collection.

Bust of the Saviour in

in the field

|c

XC

for

half-relief

HCOVC XPICTOC>

coarser in execution than the above,

Zimisces, for

The

ment.

it is

being mTlcl1

as late as

John

is oval,

If

If inch by measureis a Christ

greatest rarity, however, in the list

Ascending, bearing in his hand a long

figure of a

may be

exactly in the style of his well-known copper

This bloodstone

coinage.

upon a large bloodstone,

man

kneeling

a small

cross, at his side

a work purely Gothic in design, and

exactly agreeing with that so frequent decoration of mediaeval

but executed in the rudest

sepulchres,

The

figures are cut out as if they

in high, partially, in three-quarter relief.

onyx

of opaque white

manner conceivable.

were done in ivory or boxwood,

The

stone,

on a transparent stratum,

is

an agate-

about three

by two wide. The style is very similar to the

cameo 3496, Noah drinking under a vine, in the French
Cabinet, which Chabouillet considers a genuine example of
inches high

Our specimen may indeed be the

mediaeval art in this line.

first

essay of some Gothic wood-carver in the Byzantine art of

cameo -engraving in the fourteenth century.

design or mecanique of

its

Nothing in the

cutting (the stone

is,

sliced off in long chips) resembles those of the

This piece came out of a miscellaneous

Byzantine works.

collection formed in Suffolk, but

This

last

where discovered

example, strictly speaking,

which

this article,

of Christian art

as it were,

contemporary

is to

but

its

is

treat of the primitive

existence

is so

is

unknown.

foreign to the purpose o

monuments alone

important in the history

of gem-engraving, that I could not resist the temptation to insert

a detailed account

The most
under

my

by making

notice

is

to

design

is

the

whom

rests

stands a dove

more valuable from

solid crystal ring

come

be seen in Gorlsei Dactylio theca, 211,

where the Sacred Monogram

each side of

this digression.

tasteful of these Christian devices that has

upon the head of a Cupid, on

;

in the field

its

and f1

This

being cut on the face of a

having a cable twisted shank.

From

the late

GEMS OF THE ORTHODOX CHRISTIANS.

14:2

epoch of

all such, stone-rings, it is

manifest that the fashion had

been learnt from the Sassanian Persians, amongst

was the occasional form given

Very singular

less elegantly carved.

by Beger (Thes.

whom

such

calcedony signets, though

to their

also

the type figured

is

Latin Cross with the Fish hang-

Palat.), a tall

ing from the end of each arm.

An

my own

unique representation, now in

engraving on Red Jasper, a Martyrdom.

collection, is

an

female saint kneels

before a naked headsman armed with a singularly shaped sword,

broad-bladed with a thick back, evidently made for decapitating.

Before her stands a dove holding in

branch, aloft

is

the Chrisma

palm, and in the exergue are the letters

abbreviation of the

New

beak the

is

A N F T,

olive-

formed into a
the established

Day compliment, Annum Novum

the gem was designed for a New

Years

Felicem Tibi, showing that

Years gift to

its

the ground line

some devotee.

This intaglio

is

engraved with

extreme neatness, and cannot be placed later than Constantines

whose better-executed coins in fact its style greatly resembles. I have likewise seen an antique gold ring set with a
age,

large nicolo, engraved with the

Heavenly Father seated on his

throne surrounded by the Twelve Patriarchs, a curious and

Interesting in an equal degree was the sard once

early design.

in Herzs collection, the

tigers looking

up

Good Shepherd standing between two

with the legend ESIVKEV, which

at him,

evidently cloaked the, at the time no doubt, dangerous con-

IESV, Lord Jesu help.

To the above scanty list of genuine Christian relics may be
added another ring of the pattern above described, its face an

fession

KE

(for Kvpit)

oblong tablet engraved with the Chrisma alone.

This ring,

unlike most of the kind, was intended for the finger, not for
suspension on a cord merely, the opening being wide enough for
the form^Fpurpose, and the entire surface bearing marks of long

wear.

Said to have been found in Provence, whence most of

these specimens

come

and with

out of crystal, but bearing on

its

it

another ring similarly cut

face a large

Bee or rather a

Cigala in high relief in the same stone.

As

for the

numerous

forgeries in this class, sold

by the Roman

antiqmri , and supposed to be found abundantly in the Catacombs,

GEMS OF THE ORTHODOX CHRISTIANS.

any knowledge of antique

art suffices at once to detect the

The

recent date of their fabrication.

come

that has ever

that could for a

authenticity,

its

example in

sole

my knowledge,

to

any belief in

inspire

143

was a

flat

very

this line

moment

agate rudely

fashioned into a Gteek cross, and engraved on one side with a

veiled female bust crowned with a nimbus

But a

Christ within a cross-shaped glory.

shows the

last portrait to

be a

on the other, that of

modem

closer examination

addition, whilst the female

been turned into a Madonnas by

bust, apparently antique, has

scratching in the distinctive nimbus.

The foregoing examples

all

proceed from the Christianity of

the Western Empire, but there yet remain for consideration a

most interesting
religion

and

its

which

series,

testify to the penetration of the

symbols into the remotest regions of the East.

Amongst the Sassanian

stone seals the work, and the Pehlevi

legends on some, as well as the nature of the designs, demonstrate

that they

were the signets of the Persian Christians; those

Nestorians to

whom

the jealous pride of Peroses afforded an

asylum when persecuted and expelled from Europe and Asia

Minor by

his orthodox rival the Byzantine

times their sectarian hatred rendered

Emperor.

In

after

them the most zealous

supporters of Nushirwan and Khosru Parviz in their repeated

invasions of the

Roman

territories.

Chabouillet particularises in the Paris Collection, as examples

No. 1330.

The Sacrifice of Abraham sardonyx

The Virgin seated holding the Infant; with a
Pehlevi legend garnet. 1332. The Virgin and St. Elizabeth
a Pehlevi
clasping hands, between them a star and crescent

of this kind:
striped.

1331.

legend in the connected

1333.

The Fish placed

a carnelian annular
all,

letter

(or

early Cufic)

carnelian.

in the middle of the Christian

stamp.

And

lastly,

monogram

the most valuable of

for it presents the combination of the ancient Oriental

form

and of Greek decoration in the same monument: the bust of

Christ without a beard, in profile, the Fish underneath, and
inscribed

XPICTOV cut

cedony.

Chabouillet thinks these works

The

on a truncated cone of white

all

anterior to

usual representation of the sun and moon.

cal-

the

HEADS OF CHKIST.

144
persecution instituted

by Sapor

340, but the characters

II. in

used for the legend in 1332 attest a considerably later age.

Also E. Thomas, in his Notes on Sassanian Mint-marks and

Gems, engraves amongst the

latter a seal; device,

an elegant

Cross Patee , with a Pehlevi legend in the latest character.

HEADS OF
The non-existence

CHBIST.

of antique portraits of Christ upon gems,

at first sight unaccountable, is readily explained

A brief

dwelt.

by a reference

upon which we have already sufficiently

them will therefore suffice. As long

to certain considerations

allusion to

as the first missionaries of Christianity

origin, or trained in the

were either of Jewish

Jewish way of thinking, the weH-known

abhorrence for the representation of any living thing renders

the production or the preservation in their

community of any-

thing in the shape of a portrait, and above all of one attempting

to express a

have seen

Clemens
faith

Divine Being, a matter of moral impossibility.

how

limited the choice of subjects

Tertullians expressions

clearly prove that the figure of the

only authorized

medium

True indeed

it is

was the

Lord and

that Alexander Severus, a few years

an image of Christ amongst

the other philosophers, as Lampridius records

all probability

(De Pudicitia)

Good Shepherd

for the representation of their

later, placed in his private chapel

of

We

allowed by

to the Christians of the second century as typical of their

and in the next

Master.

is,

but

this

was in

an ideal likeness (a small figure in gold), as those

Abraham and

of

Orpheus must necessarily have been, who were

included in the same

list

of the benefactors of mankind.

good Catholic Theseus Ambrosius

is

That

indeed very wroth at the

supposition (quoting this statement of Lampridius) that the

Pagans should have preserved the likeness of Christ, but the

disciples have neglected to do so, a notion the mind shudders
to

entertain,

much

less to believe.

1
Ubi est ovis perdita ? Procedant ipsse picturse calicum vestrorum. Meaning by this the figures
in gold leaf, the usual decoration of
drinking-glasses under the Lower Em-

But

his

own

prejudices

bottoms of which are found

in the
Catacombs,
usually fixed into the plaster closing
up the tombs.
pire, the

so

plentifully

HEADS OF CHRIST.
prevented his perceiving

how

145

was a necessary con-

that the one

sequence of the other, the Jews abhorring images on account of

them by the

the adoration paid to

Carpocratians were also (we

The images

Gentiles.

may

of the

conclude from the late origin

of the sect) of no greater authenticity than those admitted by

the tolerant emperor.

It

was common then

for persons to carry

about with them the image of their patron deity

(to refute the charge of magic) in his

Apology

thus Apuleius

produces the

an admirable work of art; and Asclepiades the

philosopher, Ammian tells us, took with him wherever he went
Mercury

which having

a small silver image of the Celestial Venus,

incautiously left with tapers burning before

temple at Antioch,
fire

when he

visited Julian there, occasioned the

that destroyed that magnificent edifice.

that during the

portraits

was

in the great

it

two centuries when the

Thus

it is

of

art

evident

engraving

so extensively cultivated throughout the

Roman
own

world, the execution of the sacred likeness was by their

mode

of thought rendered altogether impossible for the primitive

Christians.

After the reign of Constantine,

much

of

its

when

the religion had lost

original severity, the impress of Jerusalem, and

was greatly modified by the influence of Roman

reliefs

and mosaics relating

to the events

New Testament present themselves in

the earliest of these

is

ideas,

bas-

and personages of the

great profusion.

the sarcophagus in the

Probably

Museo Gregoriano,

panelled with bas-reliefs representing the miracles of Christ, of

very careful and neat execution.

proof of

its

early date

may

be found in the figure of Christ, who, in the Raising up of

Lazarus, appears beardless and equipped with a

wand

in the

received guise of a necromancer, whilst the corpse of Lazarus

swathed in bandages exactly as an Egyptian

this time

gem engraving may be

mummy.

said to have

been in

decline, hardly supplying a single authentic portrait of

emperors themselves

and

is

But by
its last

even the

images destined for honour or

all

veneration were executed in gold repousse work, or by the die.

1
He was accused of always having
about him the figure of a skeleton a

potent engine in the operations of the

Black Art.

HEADS OF CHBIST.

146

The Byzantine

period, even before the revived Jndaic feeling

of the Iconoclasts,

barbarism.

It

learning

of

entirely barren, the

is

centuries between

Comneni being enveloped in the densest

interesting to note how, upon the revival

Justinian and the

is

during the latter dynasty,

flourished under their patronage, as

it

again

cameo-cutting

did four centuries later,

in a similar connexion, at Florence and Milan.

From

we may

these premises

appreciate the value of the

cameo (294 Paris) Christ teaching the three

side

and two facing him

one at his

disciples,

two angels stand behind the Saviour,

who is represented as bearded, while the disciples are beardless.

The work of this cameo, says Chabouillet, announces the first
ages of Christianity
of

its

an opinion

We

treatment.

also supported

by the manner

can imagine such a work to have been a

commission from the Empress Helena, destined for the decoration

of some reliquary or sacerdotal vase.

There

is

a good engraving

Christ, said to be copied

now

in the print shops of a head of

from the Russian emerald, and passing

an authentic portrait of our Lord executed by order of

for

and sent by him

to Tiberius. 1

any one acquainted with Roman

to

Pilate,

It is unnecessary to point out

ideas,

much

less to the con-

noisseur in gems, the glaring absurdity of this legend, which,

even

if true,

must

rest

upon a mediaeval

destination.

It

may

also

gem

tradition, the

not affording, by any possibility, any indications as to

be observed, en

its

itself

original

jpassant , that in

the

age of Tiberius the emerald was never engraved upon, and that

Roman governor would

not have selected so valuable a material

for illustrating the acta of a trial for rebellion (the charge

which he was forced by

death).
it is

upon

the priesthood to pass the sentence of

If this intaglio does really exist,

and upon an emerald,

without doubt the work of one amongst the great artists of

the Renaissance, to

whom

their patrons supplied precious stones

adequate, in their intrinsic value, to the dignity of the subject

ordered to be engraved thereupon.

not,

This story was unknown to Peigwho has carefully collected all

particulars as to these ancient like-

See also Heaphys

on this subject in the Art Journal for 1861.
nesses or vernides.

excellent series of articles

LEADEN BOOK OF THE MUSEUM KIRCHERIANUM.

147

THE LEADEN BOOK OF THE MUSEUM

KIBCHEBIANUM.
College ,

(Jesuits

Borne.)

This, the most complete series yet discovered of our sepulchral

passports,

came

into

hands of the over-learned Father

the

but under what circumstances

Kircher,

Matter suspects

it

to

is

unknown.

totally

be the same as that given by Montfaucon

to the Cardinal Bouillon,

who

died at

Rome

Matter,

in 1715.

in his Excursion Gnostique en Italie, 1862, has given a fac-

They

simile of the seven leaves composing the volume.

4x3

of lead,

are

iuches square, engraved on both sides with a

symbolical design, under which are in every case five lines, the

number no doubt

sacred

These

intentionally observed

lines are written in a large uncial

by the

scribe.

Greek character, often

square shaped, and very similar to that used on the talismans

already treated

of.

Intermixed are

resembling the hieroglyphics

Planets

still

other

characters,

some

current for the Signs and the

or perhaps letters of the Demotic and the Pehlevi

The language does not appear to be Coptic, but

many words being made up entirely
of consonants, showing that the vowels had to be supplied by
the reader. The chief interest of the relic, however, lies in the

alphabet.

rather some Semitic tongue,

designs heading each page, where

figures of Gnostic

novel, touched in
possible strokes.
cides,

beyond

all

we

recognise all the usual

iconology, accompanied by others entirely

by a free and bold graver in the fewest
The purport of the writing underneath coin-

doubt, with the prayers prescribed^ in the

Ophite Diagramma to be

by the ascending soul to

The very number of the pages,

offered

the several planetary genii.

seven, in itself confirms such

an explanation.

These stages

in the heavenward journey are represented in the following

manner
I.

nude female

figure, in

But without reason

which the navel (the

circle of

see note at end of this article.

L 2

LEADEN BOOK OF THE MUSEUM KIRCHERIANUM.

148

the

Sun )

is

strongly defined

she makes a sign of adoration to

a genius wearing a conical cap and a short tunic, armed with

a trident

1Reverse

and therefore appropriated in

Sivas proper weapon,

mediaeval art to the

new

ruler of Tartarus.

A palm-branch within a

circle,

and a large caduceus.

Female in long flowing robes addressing a gigantic

II.

much

too squat in its proportions for Thoths Ibis

fowl,

and probably

intended for that most sacred Egyptian bird the Phoenix.

Rev

Nude

female adoring an indeterminate monster, dis-

playing something like a serpents head and neck, but furnished

with huge

and issuing out

ears,

of a

low

altar.

The

first line

of the prayer underneath seems to begin with the three Pehlevi

letters,

equivalent to S, P, Y.

Horns leaning upon some kind of instrument, contemplating a huge tortoise, more carefully drawn than the rest,
III.

which

is

crawling towards him.

Rev -Female
.

in long, full robes, holding up her hands in

adoration to the small figure of a naked child (Horus),

in the act of leaping

IY. Anubis

down from

dressed in a short mantle, regarding a lofty

mountain, the apex whereof

Rev

who seems

a lofty pedestal.

Female in

ragged

is

formed into an eagles head.

leaning on a

attire,

who

towards another richly clad, and crowned,

hands as though

staff,

advancing

holds forth her

terrified at the apparition.

Y. Abraxas himself, in his proper

female fully draped,

who

resembling the letter E,

commences with SAW hence

first word in all the other pages
;

fi>rm,

looking towards a

him something indistinct, but

upside-down. The prayer underneath
offers

may be

it
is

the

conjectured that the

name

of the deity depicted

above. *

Rev

Frog and serpent facing each other

of Spring

and eternal

YI.

the ancient

emblems

but probably in this situation typifying regeneration

life.

headless man, with rays issuing from his body, and

holding forth a torch, appears falling backwards with affright at

the approach of a winged dragon.

Rev

squat personage, with a radiated crown, stands in

front-face, in the attitude of the

Egyptian Typhon.

On

the

LEADEN BOOK OF THE MUSEUM KIRCHERIANUM.

149

other side stands a very indefinite figure, resembling a Cupid

with square-cut wings, his back towards the spectator.

VII. Female with her robe flying in an arch over her head, as
Venus sometimes appears, extending her hand to a Bull coming
towards her the latter vastly superior in drawing to any of the
:

and her

Rev

this design

Venus

female reclining on the ground, towards

whom

One

other figures.
tutela,

Nude

is

tempted to discover in

Taurus.

advances a large bird, seemingly intended for a pigeon.

It is

impossible to avoid imagining in the sacred animals

figured in the respective stages, an allusion to the forms assigned

by the Gnostics

And

to the planetary genii.

as one of their

legends taught that the Saviour in his descent to the lower

world escaped the vigilance of these Powers by assuming an

analogous

form in each of their respective spheres, a conjecture

may be hazarded

that a similar metamorphosis of the illuminated

may be

soul in each sphere

represented in these inexplicable

pictures.

Another discovery of a similar nature, and the highest interest,

has lately been made, and prosecuted with the greatest care.

In 1852, whilst excavating the ruins of a tomb in the Vigna

Massini, near the Porta Pia, a marble sarcophagus
light,

the Magi, or its ancient prototype, the

The

floor of

guous in

to

Birth of Mithras.

the tomb was paved with a mosaic equally ambi-

whether the Madonna and Child,

its subject,

on many grounds more probable,

is

came

bearing a bas-relief representing either the Adoration of

Isis suckling

or,

Horus.

minor sarcophagi in terra-cotta surrounded the larger one

in these were found many leaden
into a book.

Eleven of these can

most perfect

figures three of the

Leaden scrolls were likewise employed in witchcraft, designed to compass the destruction of an enemy.
Tacitus (An. ii. 69) states that the
1

fatal illness of

Germanicus was

attri-

buted to such arts of his enemy Piso.

Saevam vim morbi augebat suspicio
veneni a Pisone accepti
et reperie,

scrolls rolled up, not

still

be decyphered

what

Several

and

made

Matter

but none of them bear any

bantur solo ac parietibus erutse humanorum corporum reliquiae carmina et

devotiones et

nomen Germanici plum-

insculptum, semiusti cineres, ac tabe obliti, aliaque malefieia

beis

tabulis

quis credunt animas numinibus infernis sacrari.

LEADEN BOOK OF THE MUSEUM KIRCHERI ANUM

150

On

inscriptions.

one Annbis appears wearing a long tunic and

buskins, bolding out a buckler and a scroll

female busts

same

at bis feet are

two

underneath are two serpents entwined around the

object, as in the

second

where these two busts

mummy. In

scroll,

likewise appear, viz., a corpse swathed up like a

this

next the busts are placed on each side of a large figure of

much

Anubis,

Below

cross.

mutilated, attired as before, but holding out a

lies

the

mummy,

swathed by the numerous folds

of a

huge serpent, the Agathodaemon, guardian of the deceased.

This

last figure will serve to explain similar designs occurring

gems

compare Plate

III.

with

1,

third scroll, the most interesting of

bears on his

arm a

its

all,

legend

on

In the

Initia.

Anubis, attired as before,

large oblong object, perhaps the regular

Eoman Scutum; an arrangement converting his outline into a

Latin cross. 1 On this and in the field are a number of Gnostic
symbols, such as will be found on the stone, Plate VIII.
also the

charm against the

prescribed

colic,

1,

Amongst them occur some

known Masons Marks

cut

by a

Egg

vertical line

for instance,

and

an eight-armed

which a

A curious

addition

make

well-

square

Egyptian

serpent, coiled into one

is

in the field, partly across the tunic, in

letters

cross, a

at his foot the rhomboid, or

of the World, towards

circle, is crawling.

and

by Alexander of

the inscription, partly

which some cursive

their appearance, thus disposed

/ce/3^7
(fr/cy/c

e/cfiX
/cei,

f3 K
K(f>

*
Of the symbols
Plates.
As to

just noticed, a large collection are given in the

their origin, a plausible conjecture may be

founded on the circumstance that certain among them agree

Here we have, and done by no

scoffer,

the

God

adored by Alxamenos.

CARD. BOUILLONS LEADEN BOOK.

closely

enough

shape with characters in the Babylonian

in

The

cuneiform alphabet.
exact value of which
coins issued

characters standing for

by the Persian
all

satraps of Salamis in Cyprus, can

doubt.

Inasmuch

was the national alphabet of Persia down

to the

as the cuneiform

Macedonian Con-

knowledge of it would naturally be preserved

amongst the Magi for some generations

used for religious documents.

was

A, the

S,

decided by their appearance on the

is

be here recognised beyond

quest, or b.c. 330, a

151

later,

And even after

and continue
their real

to be

meaning

forgotten, certain combinations expressing sacred ideas

would

continue to retain a mystic, and perhaps a thaumaturgic import-

In these symbols, therefore, we probably behold the very

ance.

Numeri Babylonii which Horace

1

from consulting in her unadvised wish

relics of ancient

dissuades the fair Leuconoe

Such

to learn the Future.

Babylonian lore would,

we may

well suppose,

never cease to be figured as they were originally devised

recent Pehlevi would have carried with

impose upon superstition

class,

it

the

too recent a stamp to

But the possible origin of the

entire

both ancient and mediaeval, will be discussed at length in

the Section treating of Caste, and Masons, Marks.

CARD. BOUILLONS

How

LEADEN BOOK.

Matter could have supposed this to be the same as the

one now in the

Museum Kircherianum, and published by himself,

imagine. Montfaucons Plate CLXXYII. gives

it is difficult to

every leaf of the former, and evidently copied with great

which I will

fidelity,

briefly describe for the sake of comparison

the foregoing designs

for the

with

analogy of the figures in Card.

Bouillons proves the similar purpose of the two

monuments

whilst the variation in particulars attests the existence of two

distinct examples of the class.

lead covers, all connected

by

The

leaves enclosed in the two

rings, secured

by a rod passed

through them, are only six in number, and the inscriptions, in

much the same

lines

character as in Matters copy, are of but four

on a page, and on only four pages, the other eight pages

All numerals were at

first letters

of

an alphabet.

THE GNOSTIC PHCENIX.

152

Now

having figures alone.

drawn than in the

better

standing up.

Female

2.

extending one hand.

god Abraxas.

6.

8.

in the form of a cross.

12.

case.

dressed,

Page

Anubis in a short

Female
10.

Man

1.

naked,

The same,
5. The
mantle.
3.

surrounded with

reclining.

Frog.

which appear

figures,

walking.

Bird-headed man,

Bust of Serapis.

7.

4.

for these

first

11.

9.

Terminal

rays.
figure,

Phoenix or vulture.

Female holding over her head a star-spangled

Mont-

veil.

faucon supposes these to be the genii presiding over the hours

of the day

the

first

expressive of rising, the last of night

caUs attention to the fact that the seventh page

is

who is sometimes entitled saraypapfjLaroQ

CLXXYIII. he figures from Bonami another,

Serapis,
PI.

and

occupied by
Oeog.

In

discovered

in a tomb, engraved in his Mus. Kircherianum, which had seven

leaves,

suspect

and two figures heading the specimen pages

is

the one Matter saw

now

though

this I

in pieces, not

bound up.

THE GNOSTIC PHCENIX.

The strange

bird occasionally figured on our talismans

clearly depicted on page II. in Kirchers

creature seems neither the

ibis

is

Leaden Book.

most
This

nor the vulture of the old

Egyptian mythology, but rather resembles the Phoenix as repre-

Temporum
The type is

sented standing on a globe, with the legend Felix

Keparatio on the coins of Constantines sons.

allusive to the promised regeneration of the empire

new

religion

the contrary sense

fable

under the

a promise, however, verified in

what a hold the
altogethera proof

and new dynasty

this

had taken on the public mind, that

acknowledged upon the imperial coinage.

it

should thus be

There

is

a certain

sacred bird often introduced on the Assyrian cylinders, and

named

in that language Bech.

the phoenix,

it

undoubtedly

is

If this be not the prototype of

of the

Arabian

BoJck, the

theme

many wonderful tales. Herodotus (II. 73) had seen when

Egypt the picture of a sacred bird called a phoenix, very
like an eagle in outline and in size, but with plumage partly
of so

in

gold-coloured, partly crimson, that visited Heliopolis once in

THE VASE OF
five

hundred years

an

object, therefore,

and impart virtue to a talisman.

The Taous

copper bird, the idol in the

by the Assyrian

sect,

taking

name from the

its

Yezedis, is in all like-

now under

lihood the descendant of the type

This

most suitable to adorn

(literally Peacock) or

present day worshipped

153

SINS.

consideration.

ancient Persian Izeds

by profession veritable Gnostics, though by

the Mohammedans esteemed worshippers of the Devil alone, on
(genii),

are thus

account of their respect for the Evil Principle,

Ildabaoth, the

Lord

who

of this world,

who

replaces the

holds so important a

position in the theology of Valentinus.

THE VASE OF
A

SINS.

most curious example of the employment of Gnostic ideas in

the medical art

Plate II. C.

fig.

is

be seen in the stone figured by Matter,

to

The obverse

4.

represents Chnuphis placed

between a hawk-headed deity and a female adoring him.

are the Five

Vowels

in the field a large pouch-like

placed upon a low altar

legend, in which only the

Above
object

the whole surrounded by a Coptic

name

Stratina is to

be decyphered.

But the reverse explains in barbarous Greek the object of the

composition

tckto'ov

tov kvkXov tov t]\elov

rrj

v nrjTpciv

Place the

rrjg

deiva

womb

eiq

tov iSiov tottov

of such and such a one

into its proper place O, the circle of the sun.

This inscription proves the stone to have been a general amulet,

a prophylactic against the prolapsus uteri, a frequent complaint
in ancient times,

in

its effects

owing

upon the

to the abuse of the hot bath, so relaxing

internal muscles, as well as to the universal

recourse to abortiva whenever considered necessary.

Indeed the

word MrjrpiKov, Uterine, occurs on talismans, and with the

same meaning.
The circle of the sun is the navel, which marks the natural
1

Pliny adds to this description that

head was embellished with a crest
and thus the Romans represented it.
Could the whole legend have been
founded on the first specimen of the

its

peacock that found its way into Egypt

a fowl imported by the Phoeni-

cians from India as early as Solomons

reign ?

THE VASE OF

154

position of the organ in question

SINS.

the navel being considered in

the microcosm as corresponding to the snn in the universe

more

idea

fully exemplified in the

an

famous hallucination of the

Greek anchorites touching the mystical Light of Tabor, which

was revealed

to the devotee after a fast of

many

days, all the

time staring fixedly upon the region of the navel, whence at

length this Light streamed as from a focus.

The

stone under consideration, engraved at

amulet, was converted, upon

by adding

the patients name.

Stratina,

only explanation, wherever

it

first for

a general

purchase, into a particular one

its

me

This appears to

the

occurs, of the vessel, so strangely

supposed by Matter to be the Yase of Sins

that

is,

the jar in

which, under the antique system, the embalmers deposited the

entrails of the corpse

and which was afterwards held up before

the gods, with a deprecatory prayer, as containing the cause of

all

by the defunct in life, and, therefore, the

him deserving of future punishment. Another

the sins committed

sole portion of

circumstance in support of this explanation

peculiar goddess of maternity,

is,

that Isis, the

Eoman

often figured in her

is

statuettes as holding aloft a conical object, flattened in front,

Some

exhibiting a triangular orifice.

others for the Persea plum.

It

is,

and

take this for an udder,

however, nothing of the sort

but simply the female uterus, the most obvious and natural

symbol of that

In her mystic

divinitys peculiar office.

were carried the

distinctive

marks of both ^sexes

the yoni of the modern Hindoos.

Their

Isis,

coffer

the lingam and

Parvati

who

in

this character is styled Devi (Diva, the goddess par excellence)

still

bears in her hand a similar object, the yoni or bhaga as her

larly,

distinctive

symbol

often a precious stone thus fashioned.

her consort, Siva, wields the phallus, or lingam.

the Nizams

Diamond

weighing 340 carats

the

largest

exhibits

skilful native lapidary to

reduce
Strange

reign, this

for certain to exist,

the evident attempt of the un-

the longitudinal

orifice.

known

Simi-

Thus,

it

into such a form,

omen

to

and

to

mark

happen under a female

diamond was accidentally broken in two

just before

the great Sepoy rebellion.

Devis
taries

mark that borne on their foreheads by Parvatis secmade by three strokes the two outer white or yellow,

is

DEATH,

HOW REPRESENTED

the centre one always red.

womb, Medhra
ceeded

and the

155

It is interpreted to represent the

of Bhavani (a title of Parvati), ont of which proIsis carries the

all that exists.

asps, or cobras

by Caylus

IN ANCIENT ART.

as

same attributes

the kid

Bhavani, upon the talisman figured

(Rec. dAntiq. iv.

PL

But having only one

xvi .). 1

pair of hands, the Egyptian goddess grasps in each the several

attributes borne singly

by her many-handed Indian prototype.

DEATH HOW BEPBESENTED IN ANCIENT

ABT.

Intermingled with the Cupids on ancient monuments, and

easy to be mistaken for one of the sportive group, appears the
personification

according to our

of,

He

cordant idea, that of Death.

way

of thinking, a most dis-

can only be distinguished from

the god of Love by his somewhat more matured form, sometimes

wingless, and the inverted torch,
ing, or
else,

which he

is

either extinguish-

upon which, already extinguished, he plants his

holding

it

foot

having his legs crossed in the attitude of profound repose

To understand how
gloomy an

so

or

downwards, leans thereon with his folded arms,

idea,

so

charming a type came

we must remember

to

2
.

be adopted for

that, to the ancient mind,

arguing merely from the analogy of nature, Death was presented

merely as the necessary converse of Birth, and, therefore, no

terrors

were conveyed

the thought; Nullique ea tristis

in

imago, in the words of the

more than a return to the

before Being commenced;

Compare

also PI.

Roman

the tomb of Vincentius

and Vibia in the catacombs of Prsetextatus, where in the scene inscribed

more numerous.
a Roman gem of my own, a
wingless boy of grave aspect, ex-

Abreptio Vibies et Discensio, the

messenger of Fate, Mercurius, ap-

On

pears stepping into and leading the

tinguishing with a gesture of determination an inverted torch, rests his

left

hand on the rim of a huge

cular vaie lying on

its

side

way

cir-

behind

him, whence he may be supposed to

have emerged. This design, long an
enigma to me, was at last cleared up
by an analogous subject in the fresco

such as was
it, To

decorating

hand are

still
2

It implied nothing

Pliny clearly expresses

or, as

XV., where the

attributes grasped in each

poet.

state of unconsciousness,

into a vase precisely similar in

shape and position. The allusion to
Orcus by this introduction of the Orca,
or jar, is evident enough and indeed
both words may have the same root,
epKos, an enclosure.
;

all

HOW REPRESENTED

DEATH,

156

IN ANCIENT ART.

the state of being, after the last day,

before the

first

tion in either

day of existence neither

;

body or soul

is

is

after death

the same as

was

it

there any more sensa-

than there was before

birth.

Hence

this

mere return,

To be

as

to life

and living woe,

beyond those springing from the natural

of self-preservation.
site

it,

the nothing that one was

Ere born

inspired no fears

Byron has

Many

instinct

carried this indifference to the oppo-

extreme, exemplified in the old story about the Thracians

lamenting on the occasion of a birth and rejoicing on that of a

Pliny declares that the greatest blessing Nature bestows

death.

upon man

the short span of his

is

life

and the

later Platonists,

as the passage from Macrobius above quoted

testifies,

the being born into the world spiritual death

dying, spiritual

birth.

But

the ancient order

after

revolutionized,

of ideas

termed

had been

and when the death of the body came

looked upon as the punishment of original

sin,

and

totally

be

to

as the in-

fraction, not the fulfilment, of a natural law, the notion neces-

sarily

assumed a more

horrific aspect,

new

the utmost of their power by the

them with the most potent engine

human mind.

The

which was exaggerated

to

teachers, as supplying

for the subjugation of the

ancient type, therefore,

which implied

nothing but peace and unbroken repose, -was at once discarded

as totally inconsistent

with the altered view of the

to this, everything like a

rolled
still

reality.

Add

Cupid had already been forcibly en-

amongst the angels, and had thus received a character

more foreign

to that of the

newly created King of Terrors.

Hence the Christians had to seek

more fitting representative of the
gression

in the ancient iconology for a

offspring and avenger of trans-

something that should be ghastly and awe-inspiring

and such a representative they found made to their hand in the

old way of picturing the Larva or bad mans ghost. This had
,

always been depicted as a skeleton

recommended by old
tiger phrases
for the genius

it,

associations

when

and such a

figure

was

the Christians, as Bot-

creeping out of their catacombs, substituted

with his inverted torch the skulls and moulder-

HOW REPRESENTED

DEATH,

ing bones of their

own

IN ANCIENT ART.

157

That the Larva was popularly

martyrs.

imagined in a skeleton form appears, among the

from

rest,

Ovid, in his Ibis, Insequar et vultus ossea larva tuos.

Whereer thou turnest

And flit,

my injured

shade shall

rise

fleshless ghost, before thine eyes.

Seneca also talks of the larvae frames of bare bones hanging

together; and Trimalchio at his feast, in order to promote con-

upon the dinner-table a larva, or skeleton of

bound about with all its limbs

viviality, flings

silver, so artfully jointed as to

Such a larva sometimes appears on gems, introduced

to remind the wearer of the short-

vibrating.

there for the same purpose

life

Virgils

Copa Syrisca urges

Pone

merum

see

as

it,

et talos per eat qui crastina curat

Mors aurem

Thus we

and the wisdom of making the best use of

ness of

vellens

Vivite,

venio.

ait,

him on a gem (Impronte Gemmarie,

holding out with one bony hand the lecythus

10, 11)

ii.

or long pointed

vase of oil that accompanied every interment, and leaning with

arm upon a

the other

enjoyment of
second, a

more

its

tall

contents

amphora, as

when

still

fanciful composition,

recommending the

if

in

ones

his torch, is peeping into a vast Corinthian crater, out of

a larva
glare

throwing himself headlong, as

if affrighted

aloft

which
at the

a design where the abstruse meaning baffles even conjec-

ture.

tombs.
fillet

is

The

power.

where Cupid, holding

skeleton was likewise often painted on the walls of

Thus, in one at Pompeii, a female

across a childs

skeleton.

is

depicted laying a

In such cases this form

is

merely adopted to represent the state of death by placing before

the eye the dead body reduced to a condition the most expressive of mortality

that of sleep.
tion

and decay, and which cannot be mistaken

But

it

is

was from the emblem

easy to perceive

spiritual influence

to

it

also typified a restless

the adoption of the same

inauspicious shape for the embodiment of the destroying

itself.

for

ready the transi-

of mortality, regarded as a condition

especially when, in the popular mind,

and malignant

how

power

Kali, in her character of Destroyer, wears a necklace of

human

skulls.

;;

DEATH,

158

But now

to return to tlie ancient

idea of death

way

conventionaUy

is

represented

horses

ing

HOW REPRESENTED

IN ANCIENT ART.

and

most common

this is the

tablets

by a

head looking in through a window upon a party

feast-

on sarcophagi and sepulchral

scene

lifes festive

more forcibly

an

Yet

allusion sufficiently obvious.

the same notion carried out in an Etruscan

is

sculpture (Rev. Archeol. 1844), where the

huge maHet,

as usual with his

demon

CJiarun ,

armed

leading the horse on which

is

the defunct, his face muffled up.

why

The

imagery of the subject.

This, perhaps,

is

sits

the cause

the horses head was so favourite a device for signets.

It

served the wearer as a memento-mori, like the deaths head so

much

in fashion in the jewellery of the Cinque-cento period, but

with a

One may conwas the source of that immemorial custom in

far other object in the antique examples.

jecture that such

mummers

South Wales of the

carrying around a horses skuU in

their Christmas merry-making.

Cognate to this

is

that most antique representation of the con-

veyance of the departed soul to the abodes of

some happy island in the

resembling a winged sea-serpent,

Roman

the

bliss,

imagined as

upon a curious hippocampus

and which afterwards became

far west,

Capricorn, the ruler of the western clime.

Thou

for

thy

rule,

Capricorn, hast

won

All that extends beneath the setting sun

as Manilius lays

down.

Phoenician scarabs
for

The

original type occurs sometimes on

and no doubt can

exist as to its intention,

on an Etruscan vase figured by Caylus (Rec.

i.

PI. 32) this

creature appears on one side, the serpentine ferry er of souls

careering over the western

wave on the
;

other stands the prcefica

lamenting over the corpse of the departed laid out upon

its

sepulchral couch of bronze.

On

the Coffer of Cypselus Night

was represented carrying

her arms two children, twins, alike in

aLl

the one white, the other black, having their

names were inscribed over them

manifest that, from the very

legs crossed.

Sleep and Death.

little

Their

Thus

dawn of pictorial art, the

mark of the most profound

were the distinguishing

and the sluggards wish for a

legs

in

respects save colour

it is

crossed

repose

more folding of the hands

To face Page 159.

HOW REPRESENTED

DEATH,

in slumber, tells the

same

genius leaning on his

as so

IN ANCIENT ART.

arms of the Eoman

for the crossed

down

159

This traditional

into the

Middle Ages,

cross-legged effigies of warriors reposing from their

many

remain

extinguished torch.

attitude retained its significance far

fatigues,

which popularly pass on that account

for crusaders, yet

to attest.

Another most expressive emblem, and one frequently occur-

Winged Foot crushing a

ring, is the

But the

butterfly.

probably for the same reason as the horse,

its

foot

conveying the

notion of departure seems especially to have been chosen for

the

emblem

Thus Horaces

of death.

simile

Pallida mors aequo pulsat pede pauperum tabernas

Regumque

Hence the

foot

turres.

became the peculiar

attribute of the infernal

gods; and such, cut in stone, were often dedicated to Serapis;

apparently ex

votos

commemorating an escape from the very

threshold of his dark domain.

lately

exhumed from the

magnificent example was

ruins of the Serapeum at Alexandria

a colossal foot, richly sandalled, on top of which sat enthroned

the god, with his attendants, Cerberus and the serpent Shesha at
,

his side.

Moor

notices the existence of the impressions of a pair of feet

cut upon a

the

stone about

flat

tion that they

widow stepped from

gate of heaven.

him

earth

suttees,

temples, and the tradi-

marking the place whence

upon the funeral

pile, or into

the

This custom bears upon the Buddhist venera-

tion for the print of

called after

many Hindoo

commemorated

Adams

foot

in Ceylon.

upon the summit of the peak

Again,

we

find a similar

form of

relic-worship manifesting itself in the very metropolis of Christianity

for the prints of Christs

feet

on a

of basalt, a

.slab

paving-stone of the Via Appia, have been worshipped from time

immemorial in the church of Domine quo vadis, built over the

consecrated spot.
It has long
sible

been a question

how

the Grecian Hades (the Invi-

One) and the Roman Pluto were represented

these deities in their original acceptation

equivalent, Serapis, regarded as god of the shades, is

frequently to be seen upon

monuments

of

meaning

for their

Roman

Egyptian

much more
date

than

HOW REPRESENTED

DEATH,

160

IN ANCIENT ART.

either of his brethren, Jupiter and Neptune.

Here,

he

also,

is

frequently sculptured in the character of Pluto , the Lord of

Eiches, seated on a throne, holding a cornucopia, and extending

hand a bundle of

in his right

all earths choicest gifts.

what form the early Greeks had represented

God

Serapis was introduced into their

which has never been satisfactorily

of the Shades, before

mythology,

is

answered.
as a

Under

their Aidoneus, the

a question

Cerberus, indeed, occurs sometimes on early scarabs

human

with three heads of a dog, and also under the

figure

Homer (v. 845) names the

helmet of Hades, which Pallas puts on to render herself
invisible to Ares, and this the scholiast explains by cloud and
invisibility
whence one may conclude that, inasmuch as this
form more generally recognised.

deity was rendered invisible

was made
robes,

to personify

by
him by

his very attributes, no attempt

art.

deity in long flowing

and bearing a trident wanting one of the prongs, some-

times painted on the Nolan vases, has been explained as Aidoneus, but on insufficient grounds, being doubtless a

famed

and in

the adoption
If

we

Neptune in

445) gives him the epithet

(xi.

for his steeds; alluding doubtless to the rapidity of the

destroyer

Eape

Homer

Again,

the archaic style.

this title

by the Greeks

may

perchance

of the horse for an

lie

the motive for

emblem

of death.

could meet with any genuine antique sculpture of the

of Proserpine in early art,

question

it

would

at once decide the

but the ill-omened character of the subject, set forth

in Suetoniuss anecdote about the ring so engraved presented

Sporus to Nero as a

new

years gift,

cluded this scene from the

immense

by

had almost completely ex-

artists catalogue.

Stosch, in his

variety of mythological designs, has nothing of the

kind, and Easpe only a single antique paste, and that of dubious
interpretation, in

which a god with quiver on

bearing away a

nymph

in a car

his shoulder is

drawn by two swans.

Such

the

period

attributes bespeak the late date of the composition

when Hades,

Serapis, Phoebus,

were interpreted as merely

signi-

fying certain periods in the suns annual course.

As
1

for the

Dis, there

Eoman

was the best of

1

him his Latin name,

reasons why he was left out of the

Pluto, or rather, to give

all

Dis, Ditis, from the

same root

as Death.

HOW REPRESENTED

DEATH,

IN ANCIENT ART.

161

province of art which admitted nought that was hideous, or of

There can be

augury.

evil

imagination of the

we

doubt that to the popular

little

Romans he

continued the Charun

still

whom

yet behold presiding in the sepulchres of their Etruscan

instructors in the arts, a giant

jaws, and pointed ears

with hideous

grinning tusky

face,

winged buskins on his

legs,

one arm

extended entwined with a serpent, and shouldering a huge

mallet.

It

was doubtless a continuation of

this idea that caused

the retention of precisely the same instrument, mazza, at

for the execution of the

more

Rome

atrocious criminals until the recent

introduction of the guillotine.

That Pluto was so personified in the shows of the amphitheatre

as late as the third century

may be

gathered from a passage in

Tertullian (Apol. xv.), where he describes, amongst the scenic

cruelties of the afternoon, the spectators laughing at

raising the dead with a red-hot iron

prostrate bodies to ascertain if

any

applied
life

Mercury

doubtless to the

yet lingered in them

and the Brother of Jupiter armed with a mallet, escorting the

dead bodies of the gladiators, to give them the coup de grace.
,

The Etruscan image passed down

into the belief of the mediaeval

Florentines, for Dante introduces

Charon dimonio con occhi

di bragia.

Charon, a devil with live coals

In early Greek

art

for eyes.

the disembodied spirit

under the form of a bird with a human head.

is

On

aptly typified
a vase in the

British Museum, painted with the Death of Procris, such a bird

is

seen winging

nymph.

its

The back

way

aloft, as if

escaping from the transfixed

of the famous scarab in the Russian collec-

tion (subject, the Death of Achilles )

creature, rending her breast in agony.

idea

is

personified

by a simple

designs where the subject

is

varied into a female with

is

carved into such a

Sometimes the same

bird, often seen in

a heros death.
butterfly wings

Again,

Etruscan

we

find it

the well-known

Psyche and such a form appears seated upon the

the pillar

marking Achilless tomb, before which the

Polyxena

is

capital of
sacrifice of

about to take place.

This human-headed bird stands also for other mythological

DEATH,

162

In

creations.

HOW REPRESENTED

this

IN ANCIENT ART.

form the Syrens are always painted

or,

sometimes, with half a womans body, the rest a birds, figured

thus on painted vases in the scene with Ulysses, and again in the
bas-relief of their contest

with the Muses. As, despite their beauty

and melody, the Syrens were considered malignant and destructive beings, exactly the

same shape was given

to the Harpies.

Indeed, they both appear to have been originally identical in

meaning.

As the name

of the latter signifies the Snatchers-

away, the Harpy symbolizes death in the abstract, and often

depicted as armed with a sword, or bearing upon

is

its

shoulders

Hence the Harpy occupies

the funereal lecythus, or the torch.

a conspicuous place in the decoration of

many

early sarcophagi.

make out how Euripides

It is plain that he had
had personified death in the Alcestis.
brought on the stage Hades himself, for he styles him King
of the Dead, and Macrobius uses the name Oreus in reference to
There are not

sufficient data for us to

1

the same subject.

All that can be deduced from the incidental

allusions of the dramatis personal

is,

that this deity

was robed in

black and armed with a sword, with which he severed a lock from
the head of his prey, so devoting her to the subterranean gods.

Such a

personification had, to all appearance, nothing horrible

or grotesque about

it

far different from the

Ker

also black-

robed, according to Homers normal epithet for her, as engraved

by the archaic chaser on the Coffer of Cypselus. Such a shape

was readily accepted by the gloomy genius of the Etruscans,
ever delighting in the mysterious and the horrible. She thus
on a gem threatens us in a shape almost identical with that
Pausanias describes, having a huge Gorgons head, open-mouthed,
four wings, like an Assyrian genius, arms wreathed with serpents,

and her action that of furious

the Furies brought on the stage

haste.

So, doubtless,

by iEschylus when

the horror of

their strange aspect so affrighted the Athenian audience.

must

for his purpose

for the Furies that

the

He

have revived the old and forgotten type,

pursue Orestes on the painted vases of this

date are no more than

and

were

shadowy old women brandishing serpents

torches.

Perhaps under

this very form, for

Harpy sometimes

occurs with the

bust of an aged

womans.

man

replacing the

THE HINDOO INEFFABLE NAME.

163

THE HINDOO INEFFABLE NAME.

Name emblazoned

This awful

in three Sanscrit letters within

a cartouche formed by a serpent, that normal inclosure for the

Blessed Name amongst the Gnostics, is appropriately supported

upon the elephant-head

word being

rendered into English.

It is

AUIV3 than OSVSj

the Preserver,

Brahma-Vishnu-Siva.

Amen

In

used for Anghe-Kar

gVI

If uttered, the

or So be

elements,

its

signifies

the Destroyer; or the triad

sound much resembles

drawled out by a country parish clerk

as

The

as usually

never to be uttered 'aloud, but

only mentally by the devout.

the Creator,

god of Wisdom.

of Ganesa, the

triliteral is rather

in fact it is

in token of approbation.

it,

Other names of the Deity are Tat, and Sat = Virtue. 2

The
ii.

70)

origin of the Ineffable

:

Brahma

Name

milked out as

and the

the letter A^ the letter

is

thus related (Inst. Menu,

were from the three Vedas

it

letter

JVI

together with the

three mysterious words Bhur, Bhavah, Swar;

From

Heaven.

or Earth, Sky,

the three Vedas also the Lord of Creatures, in-

comprehensibly exalted, successively milked out the three treasures Of that ineffable text beginning with the
entitled Savitri, or the Gayatri.

who

priest

word
shall

Tail,

and

know

the

Veda, and pronounce to himself, both morning and evening, that

syllable

and that holy text preceded by the three words, 3 shall

attain the sanctity

who

which the Veda confers

and a

twice-born

man

shall a thousand times repeat those three, apart from the

month even from a great offence,

The three great immutable words,
syllable and followed by the Gayatri,

multitude, shall be released in a

as a snake from its slough.

preceded by the

triliteral

Moor, Hindu Pantheon.

These names are to be recognised

in the Egyptian Tat, Taauth, and
Sate Truth.

I cannot help

sus-

pecting that this very Hindoo Tri-

grammaton

AUM

sometimes concealed in the assemblage of vowels

inscribed on some of our talismans.
Certainly the calcedony (Mert. Schaaf.
is

517) engraved on one side with the

Delphic Apollo in a good style, on
the other, by a later hand, with a
man dancing, his apron filled with
fruits,

presents in the legend around

the latter

nTPC onAIO&JAOTMOAEI,

this sacred triliteral, as it

spelt
3

by a Greek.
Bhur, Bhavah, Swar.

would be

; ;

!:

THE HINDOO INEFFABLE NAME.

164

which

measures, must he considered as the

consists of three

mouth or principal part of the Veda.

The

Let us adore

Gayatri, or holiest verse of the Vedas:

who

the supremacy of that Divine Sun, the Godhead

all,

who

return

recreates

whom we

whom

from

all,

must

all

invoke to direct our understandings aright in

our progress toward the Holy Seat.

Heaven

whom

proceed, to

all

illuminates

Another

is

44
:

Earth

Sky

Let us meditate on the most excellent light and power

of that generous, sportive,

and resplendent Sun, that

may

it

guide our intellects.

The Brahmins
This

new and

Sun ( Pushan ),
speech

confession of faith also contains this Gayatri

excellent praise of thee,

offered

is

by us

Be

to thee.

splendid, playful

gratified

approach this craving mind as a fond

woman.

May

Sun who contemplates and

that

of the Divine Ruler (Savitri)

we

this

my

seeks a

looks into all

Let us meditate on the adorable light

worlds be our Protector.

sirous of food,

by

man

solicit

may

it

guide our intellects.

De-

splendid Sun,

who

gift of the

the

Venerable men, guided by

should be studiously worshipped.

the understanding, salute thee, Divine Sun, with oblations and

praise.

Moor observes on

this, that

it is difficult to

be so sedulously kept

this text should

conjecture

why

secret, for its exposition

unconnected with the idea of mystery and affectation of profundity doth not appear likely to have the
all priests, of

covery of

dreaded by

guiding the intellects of the multitude to the dis-

truth.

meaning

of the

Eternal Sun, so frequent upon our gems, where also the

name

These invocations will afford some clue

44

effect, so

Tat may

to the

occasionally be recognised; and their inscriptions,

could they be interpreted, would probably often contain a cognate

In this doctrine

lies

the whole

origin of our talismanic inscriptions

and

it

may

well be that

many

of

actually do contain the Three

them

Words

concealed by a corrupt pronunciation,

or purposely veiled under

an anagram

from the eyes of the profane.

There

is something in this that

reminds one of the invocation in the unknown tongue upon

the Herz garnet. The Divine Sun

irresistibly

must be the CEMECEIAAM so frequently recurring.

HINDOO PRINCIPLE OP DUALISM.

by the rare exceptions couched

import, a conjecture supported

Compare Creuzers Plasma,

in Greek.

165

p. 101.

HINDOO PRINCIPLE OF DUALISM.

In Valentinus

System of Emanations,

First Cause in pairs, male

and female

proceed from the

all

feature

which pre-

eminently stamps his scheme as borrowed from the Indian the-

osophy

for in the latter every Principle is divided into a

and female Energy, each exactly

distinguished

by

alike to the other, the

Each deity

their sex alone.

exerts his

male

same

power

through the agency of his female Principle or Sadi, whose Vehan

or vehicle again

that

instrument or attribute

is,

and represented in a material form.

Supreme Triad, the Sactis and Vehans
1.

(the

is

also fixed

Of the Persons in the

are,

Of Brahma, Saraswati, goddess of harmony and the arts

J ewish Sophia) her vehan is a swan or goose. (Hence
:

Junos attribute.)
2.

Of Vishnu, Lateshmi, goddess of prosperity, has the

Kamala, or lotus-bearing

Vishnu, in one avatar, takes the

Varahi, and then her vehan

Persian

is

name Varahrani, and

title of

is

Garuda the man-eagle. 1

title

Varaha, and his Sacti,

her vehan

the buffalo

hence the favourite

the frequency of the buffalo, or

Brahminee bull, on their signets.

Of Siva, the Changer or Destroyer

rather
3.

fecundity

2
:

Bhavani, goddess of

her vehan, the tiger or bull.

Certain of their numerous appellations bear a strong resemblance

to

words frequently occurring in our gem legends.

wife of Vishnu,

MAPTA

in his

as Nauthji, a

common NAVTITA.

seventh avatar,

name

of

Sumitri, the

COV-

explain

Vishnu and Crishna, the equally

Isa and fern. Isi

is

1
This explains why the Sassanian
queens carry that flower in their
hands
they are represented in the
character of Kamala.
I shall have

their

occasion hereafter to note the appear-

for

ance of a Hindoo gods title in the

names of certain Sassanian kings. As

perishes

may

indubitably the source

empire extended so far into

no doubt Hindoo princesses
formed a portion of their harems.
India,
2

And consequently of destruction,

the one implies the other nothing

called

things only take a new form,

by the vulgar death.

THE HINDOO TRIAD.

166

name

of the

Isis

and Nila, dark blue, an epithet of Parvati,

appropriately designates Father Nilus. 1

Yishnu

ing upon the surface of the deep in his Vat

as Naryani, float-

leaf, is

coloured all

over a deep blue.

The
of

its

Abundance

lotus being the attribute of the goddess of

(Ceres or Abundantia),

we

obtain the reason of the intermixture

seed-vessels usually mistaken for

poppy heads amongst the

wheat ears in the Cornucopia.

AND ATTRIBUTES.

YAMAS TITLES

The analogy between Yama and

Serapis becomes

more evident

on the consideration of other points connected with his

office.

Thus, to the souls of the good, he appears as Dherma-Raja, and

servant

his

(psychopompus)

Karmala,

is

To

into his presence in a self-moving car.

Yama, and

who

his servant is Kashmala,

who

conducts them

the bad souls he

is

drags them with halters

round their necks over rough and thorny places.

Other

titles

given him are Kritanta and Mritu.

of the latter with

appellation for Dis

Death

Mors
;

is sufficiently

lies

Brahma.

The

ITS

Siva.

The

Preserver.

rather the Changer, for all death

Siva indeed

is

English

THREE PERSONS.

Yishnu.

The

Creator.

last is

a fitting

a connexion already noticed.

THE HINDOO TRIAD

change.

is

for in Dis, Ditis, the root of the

unmistakeably

The

The connexion
and

evident,

Destroyer.

is

no more than

in one of his characters considered the

2
same as Yama, the god of the shades.

From

the Inscription of

Buddha Gaya, Bengal, dated 1005

the era of Yikramaditya, or 57

C OYMAPOA seems to be an epi-

thet of the sun, for Montfaucon gives

in PI.

clvii.

legend

a figure of Sol with this

and on the reverse XEPOTBI,

doubtless allusive to the cherubim.

of

Amara-deva having heard

b.c.

Inasmuch as Brahma and Yishnu

and Water, it
easy to discover whence came the

are the elements Fire

is

old

Hellenic Triad, Zeus, Poseidon,

Hades.

THE HINDOO TRIAD.

this (voice) caused

167

an image of the Supreme

made and he worshipped

it

Spirit

Buddha

to

be

according to the law with perfumes,

and the like and he thus glorified the name of that

ReSupreme Being, an Incarnation of a portion of Vishnu.
verence be unto thee in the form of Buddha reverence be unto
incense,

thee,

Lord

of the earth

reverence be unto thee, an Incarnation

of the Deity and the Eternal

God

in the form of the

trouble

the Lord of

all

things

Age)

sins of the Kali-yug (Iron

the

One reverence be unto thee, 0 God,

of Mercy, the dispeller of pain

emblem of mercy towards

the deity

all those that serve thee

Thou

art

OMj the

Brahma, Vishnu,

thou art the Lord of the universe

the

the guardian of the universe

possessor of all things in vital form.

and Mahesa (Siva)

who overcomes

and

thou art

the proper form of all things, 1 moveable and immoveable, the

possessor of the whole.

And

Reverence be

thus I adore thee.

unto thee, the bestower of salvation

reverence be unto thee,

0, Damadara! show me
Thou art he who resteth upon the face of the milky
ocean, and who lieth upon the serpent Sesha.
Thou art Trivikrama, who at three strides encompasseth the earth. I adore thee,
the destroyer of the evil spirit Kesi.

favour.

who

by a thousand names, and under various

forms, in the shape of Buddha, the God of Mercy
be propitious,
(Moors Hind. Pantheon, p. 223.) Having
0 thou Most High
thus worshipped the guardian of mankind, he became like one of
art celebrated

He

the just.

joyfully caused a holy temple to be built of a

wonderful construction, and therein were set up the Divine Foot

of Vishnu, 2 for ever purifier of the sins of mankind, the images of

the Pandus, and of the descents of Vishnu, and in like manner of

Brahma and the

cut in stone,

Feet in

rest of the divinities.

are

common about Hindoo

relief,

or incavo,

temples; they are

memorials of Suttees, the widow having mounted from that stone

That

is,

the pre-existing type;

the Ferouer, the Platonic Idea, the

Talmudical Adam-Kadmon, all springing from one source.

2

Compare the

colossal

foot

dedi-

cated to Serapis at Alexandria as his

proper attribute.

The Winged

Foot,

entwined with a serpent placed between two lions seiant, is cut on the

made Deo Serapi

M. Vibius Onesimus ex visu. Its

top of the altar,

sides

present, one,

throne;

the

other,

the god on his

Isis

Montfaucon, PI. cxxii.

standing.

THE HINDOO TRIAD.

168

upon the pyre.

In this usage seems the source of the con-

nexion between such a figure and Serapis, or Yama, god of the

shades.

An
Bay

ancient silver plate found in a pit at Islamabad, north of the

of Bengal, records the hallowing of the site of a projected

temple there by the deposit in the pit of one hundred and twenty
small bronze images, called Tahmudahs

Languda

twenty of larger

containing two of the bones of Thacur

of the birth and infancy of

Buddha

descended from the regions of

It gives

When

souls,

an account

Buddha Avatar

and entered the body of

Mahamaya, the wife of Soontah Danna, Baja of Kailas, her

suddenly assumed the appearance of clear transparent

which Buddha appeared beautiful

clining

size,

one large in stone, Langudagari ; and a brass vessel

and

as a flower, kneeling

When bom

on his hands.

womb

crystal, in

he had on his head two

and on his hands the marks of wheels.

Brahma attending

re-

feet,

at the

and delivered him

birth, received the infant in a golden vessel,

to Indra.

The penances

demon

of the

Tarika, the Tapuri-sura, each of

100 years duration, by which he forced Brahma to grant him any

boon he might demand, are thus enumerated

1.

He

stood on one foot, holding the other and both his hands

towards heaven, with his eyes fixed on the sun.

one great

toe.

3.

He

He lived similarly on air.

4.

was buried in the

7.

The same

common

epi-

In
mediaeval ecclesiastical usage (and
probably to the present time) it was
or deified mortal.

absolutely necessary before the conse-

any altar in a church that

of some saint should first be

cration of

relic

buried

underneath

its

base.

This

coincidence can hardly be accidental.

2

To be

buried in a small vault

sown in the

until a crop of barley

earth over

it

He

stood on

He remained in the water.

earth, but continued, as

Thacur, noble, a

god

5.

in incessant adoration.

thet of a

2.

took for sustenance nothing but water.

at the time of

inhuma-

in

6.

He

under the last penance,

fire.

8.

He

stood on his

shall be ripe and cut, is yet

esteemed the most efficacious of all
good works, for obtaining from heaven
Great people
the object most desired.

tion

get it done for them by proxy and the

resident at Runjeet Singhs court has
described all the preparations of the
;

and the actual performance

which occupied six weeks.
was present at the closing and the

patient,

of the task,

He

opening of the vault.

TAUROBOLIA INCANTATIONS.
head with his

hung by

his

upwards.

feet

hands on a

He stood on
He hung

9.

tree.

11.

169

one hand.

10.

He

on a tree with his

head downwards.

TAUROBOLIA

TEE BAPTISM OF BLOOD.

In the later times of the

Eoman empire this extraordinary

as a mode of purification from

ceremony held the highest place

all sins,

the

however

rite,

in

atrocious.

Prudentius has minutely described

which the person

to

be regenerated descended,

mouth

stripped of his clothing, into a pit, the

covered with boards pierced

full of holes, a bull

of

which being

was slaughtered

upon them, and his hot blood streaming down through these
apertures after the manner of a shower-bath, completely drenched

The victim

the recipient below.

selected proves this rite to have

been connected with the Mithraica, which, according

had a baptism

for the remission of sins

recognised type of
stituted the

most

life

to Justin,

and the bull being the

in that system, his blood necessarily con-

efficacious laver of regeneration.

INCANTATIONS.
Erictho, in her evocation of the ghosts, appeals thus to the
infernal deities (Lucan, VI., 695-750)

Et Chaos innumeros avidum confundere mundos,

Et Rector terrse quern longa

Mors dilata deum

in secula torquet

Tisiphone, vocisque mese secura Megsera

Non

agitis seevis

Infelicem

Erebi per inane

Jam

animam ?

flagellis

vos ego nomine vero

Eliciam Stygiasque canes in luce supema

Destituam

per busta sequar per funera custos

Expellam tumulis abigam vos omnibus urnis.

Teque deis ad quos alio procedere vultu
Ficta soles Hecate pallenti tradita forma
Ostendam faciemque Erebi mutare vetabo
Eloquar immenso terrse sub pondere quse te
Contineant Ennsea dapes, quo foedere moestum
Regem noctis amas quse te conjugia passam
Noluerit revocare parens. Tibi pessime mundi
Arbiter immittam ruptis Titana cavernis.
;

INCANTATIONS.

170
Et

Paretis ? an Ille
quo nunquam terra vocato
Non concussa tremit qui Gorgona cemit apertam
Yerberibusque suis trepidam castigat Erinnyn
subito feriere die.

Compellandus

erit

Indespecta tenet vobis qui Tartara, cujus

Yos

estis

Superi

And Cbaos

Stygias qui pejerat undas

ever craving to enfold

Unnumbered worlds

And earths

in tby confusion old.

dull god,

who groaning

still

beneath

Lifes lingering torture, pinest for tardy death.

Tisiphone, and thou her sister

Megsera, thus regardless of

Why haste ye not with

my

fell

spell,

sounding scourge to chase

The

soul accursed through hells void, formless, space

Say,

must I

And

drag the hell-hounds forth

call

Midst deaths

you by the names your right

Ill

dog your

to the

upper light

steps at every turn,

Chase from each tomb, and drive from every urn.

And

thou, still wont with visage not thine own

To join the gods round the celestial throne,
Though yet thy paleness doth the truth betray

And

hints the horrors of thy gloomy sway,

Thee, Hecate, in thy true shape

Nor

let

Ill

show,

thee change the face thou wearest below.

what

Ill tell

feasts

thy lingering steps detain

In earths deep centre and thy will enchain,

Tell

what the pleasures that thee

so delight,

And what tie binds thee to the king of night,

And by what union wert thou so defiled
Thy
Ill

very mother would not claim her child.

burst thy caves, the worlds most evil Lord

And

pom- the sun upon thy realms abhorred

Striking thee lifeless

If

still

reluctant

Or must

I call

by the sudden day,

my behests

Him,

at

to obey.

whose whispered name

Earth trembles awestruck through her inmost frame

He who beholds unveiled the Gorgon dire,

And tames the Furies with their whips of fire
He to whom the abyss, unknown to all, is given,
He the true master of the gods of heaven ?
:

All these personifications are in a spirit quite foreign to the

Grecian

mythology, hut

Lucans Chaos

is

the

savouring

strongly of the Indian.

Hindoo destroyer, the negro giant Maha-

Pralaya swallowing up the very gods themselves in his wide-

INCANTATIONS.
His Rector

opened month.

Terrse, pining for

death so long in coming, has not

mythology, and remains to

171

me

the promised

prototype in the

utterly inexplicable.

old

His Furies

haunting tombs, instead of the former awful Eumenides the

But

avengers of guilt, are mere demons, churchyard ghouls.

Bhavani; her facies Erebi the Gorgon

his Hecate is plainly

aspect that the latter wears in Yama-putri, but which she puts off

when on

earth or in heaven
and the infernal feasts that so
charm her are the human sacrifices offered by her special
;

devotees the Thugs.

In this, her infernal aspect, a true
facies Erebi, she is depicted adorned with a necklace of human
skulls

and grasping in each hand a naked victim.

the pessime

Siva

mundi

arbiter,

suits well

Her

lord,

with the Destroyer

1
.

Kali, one

character of Bhavani, appears in sculpture as a

terminal figure, the exact counterpart in outline of the Ephesian

Diana.

Even

the stags, those singular adjuncts to the shoulders

of the latter, are seen in a similar position springing from Kalis

hands.

The numerous

peculiar to Isis

form Parvati.

2
,

who

Now

is

breasts of the Ephesian statue

were

also

allowed to be the Indian goddess, in her

Diana, as Hecate or Proserpina, belongs to

the Infernal world, and reigns in the same capacity as Bhavani

there.

The Ephesian image, made

from heaven,
source.

Her

i. e.

priests

Hassan, pure

sworn

of cypress-wood, fell

were called Essenes or Hessenes (from

in virtue

of the strict chastity they were

to observe during the twelvemonth they held that

Such asceticism

down

came from some extremely remote and antique

is

developed fully in the sect

office.

and was
flourishing under the same name

entirely an

Indian

institution,

around the Dead Sea, and springing from the same root as the
mysterious religion at Ephesus.

1
Lucan may indeed have heard
something of the Demiurgus Ildabaoth, the Son of Darkness or Erebus, existing in some old theogony
under a different name. The Gnostics
did not invent, they only borrowed
and adapted.

But only in her

statue in the Sera-

peum, not in those belonging

original creed of Egypt.

to the
Macrobius

account shows that her exact character

was a matter of dispute, like that

there

of her lord, Serapis.

THE MAGI AND BRAHMINS.

172

THE MAGI AND BRAHMINS AS KNOWN TO TEE

ROMANS.
Ammian,

in his history of Julians Persian expedition, gives

the following curious details

upon

this subject (xxiii. 6).

In

these tracts are situated the fertile lands of the Magi (in Media)

concerning whose profession and pursuits, since

come upon them,

Plato,

tion.

states that the

name

will be fitting to give

it

that greatest authority

Magian
,

here

upon famous

doctrines,

known by

the mystic

religion or Magia,

of Machagistia is the

we have

some brief informa-

most uncorrupted form of worship in

things divine, to the philosophy of which, in primitive ages,

Zoroastres, a Bactrian,

made many

mysteries of the Chaldeans

additions,

learned prince, the father of Darius. 1

when he was

drawn from the

as did, still later, Hystaspes, a

most

This prince, Hystaspes,

unknown

boldly penetrating into the

regions of

Upper India had come upon a certain wooded solitude, the

tranquil silence of which is occupied by those exalted sages the
Brachmans. Instructed by their teaching in the science of the
motions of the world and of the heavenly bodies, and in pure
,

religious rites ,

as far as

he was able to

collect

them

of these

thus acquired notions he transfused a certain proportion into the

creed of the Magi.

The

latter,

coupling these doctrines with

their own peculiar science of foretelling the Future, have

down

handed

the whole through their descendants to succeeding ages.

Thenceforth through

many

generations,

down

time, a multitude sprung from one and the

itself to religious offices.

It is said that

the Sacred Fire, that in the

first

to the present

same stock dedicates

they preserve unextinct

place fell

down from heaven, a

portion of which, for a good omen, used always to be carried

2
before the kings of Asia.

was

at first

This

is

The number of persons thus descended

but small, and they were exclusively employed by

a mistake, for the father

was only satrap (vwapxos) of

Persia under Cambyses. The name,

of Darius

from Gushtasp, the planet

Venus, was doubtless a very common
derived

one wherever the Magian religion was

Herod, iii. 70.
2 Meaning
the Persian kings when
monarchs of all Asia.

professed.

PRESERVATION OF GNOSTIC SYMBOLS BY FREEMASONS.

173

the Persian princes for the performance of religious services.

It

was esteemed a great crime

approach the altar or to touch

to

the sacrifice, before the Magus, after reciting the appointed

prayers,

had poured upon

the preliminary libations

it

grown

gradual increase they have

and inhabit

of a distinct nation,

allowed to follow their

are

to the dimensions

villages unprotected

own

But by

1
.

and name

by

walls,

laws, and are respected on

It was from this race of

Magi that Seven as ancient history records, usurped the Persian
crown upon the death of Cambyses, and were crushed by the
conspiracy of that Darius who gained the crown through the

account of their religious character.

,

In

neighing of his horse.

account

this

Ammian

has strangely

confounded the Hystaspes, an ancient Median king, with the

much more
the

first

recent Persian noble of the same name, the father of

Darius

2
.

But the whole legend proves

clearly the

previous existence of the Magi as a body of diviners and seers,

like the Jewish communities called Sons of the prophets, and

by an importation
the conquest of some Indian pro-

the subsequent modification of their religion

of Brahminical ideas after

Such being the

vinces.

case,

we need

finding Sassanian kings bearing names

not be surprised at

derived from Indian

Varanes (from Varani, Vishnus

deities, as in the case of

as several others of the race

title),

assume that of the peculiar Persian

god Ormuzd, in the form of the favourite royal name Hormisdas.

PBESEBVATION OF GNOSTIC SYMBOLS BY THE

FBEEMASONS.
At the

many

first

sight

Gnostic,

apparently their

and

it

is

altogether startling to recognise so

primitively

original

illustrated formulae of our

Indian,

amongst

sense,

Freemasons

symbols,
the

and in

retaining

insignia

colour to their claims to the most venerable antiquity.

pleasing illusion vanishes

when we

Herodotus says exactly the same

And

investigate the

yet more absurdly converts

mode

But the
of their

Magian usurper Smerdis into

number seven that of the Persian
nobles who put him down.
the one

the

thing.

and

itself it gives

174

PRESERVATION OP GNOSTIC SYMBOLS BY FREEMASONS.

descent

and the Order, though claiming them as its legitimate

out at the last a mere daw in borrowed

inheritance, turns

plumes.

In the

no

have

first

place

can be easily shown that our Freemasons

it

connexion,

mediaeval guilds bearing that

The

maintain.

where each
to the

actual

either

latter

name

or traditional,

still

the

were corporations of actual workmen,

after serving a regular apprenticeship,

custom

with

a pretence they so zealously

and according

kept up in some countries, producing a

trial-

was admitted Free of the

guild and accepted amongst its members.
The potations
accompanying the ceremony are in truth the sole point of
affinity between the ancient and the modern Freemasons.
The mediaeval guild of Masons was no more a secret society
piece to prove his competency,

than was the guild of Carpenters, or of Tailors, or of Cord-

Every mason indeed, and

wainers.

peculiar to the craft carrying with

antiquity,

this

is

the only thing

an air of mysterious

it

had on his admission a mark or cypher assigned him,

upon every stone he dressed (still

the rule) in order to distinguish his own work from that of his
fellows, when the dressed stones came to be looked over by the
architect, or rather master-mason, who paid him for the approved,
but stopped his wages for those spoiled. In fact, in mediaeval
documents connected with building, the name Freemason
which he was bound

signifies

to set

merely the worker in hewn stone

the

common work-

man who

ran up the body of the wall, usually in rubble or

ragstone, was called the Kough- waller.

As

to these

Marks, of which

many examples from

diverse regions are subjoined, their history

interest

and of obscurity.

Many

of

them

is

the most

indeed full of

are traditional,

and go

back to the highest antiquity, being found on early Greek and

Phoenician buildings, wherever hewn stone was employed, and
in vast abundance

and variety in

Similarly every merchant of the

Staple joined to his own

initials

his seal, or in his trade mark,

mark

on
the

of the staple-town to which he

belonged.

This, though

similar in

all

outline,

dicate

mediaeval architecture.

was

variously modified to in-

each of the fifteen places in

England, Wales, and Ireland appointed

by Edward III.

PRESERVATION OF GNOSTIC SYMBOLS BY FREEMASONS.

These Marks, doubtless in the beginning

religious,

175

many being

Hindoo caste-marks by which the followers

identical with the

of the different gods are distinguished, and hence to be dis-

covered even on Celtic monuments, as in the singular instance

at

Stonehenge, 1 have degenerated, for centuries further back

than can be traced, into the mere signatures of

illiterate

work-

men.

To

illustrate this curious point I shall here quote a

few of

the most important Caste-marks, reserving the notice of the

mediaeval Marks for a separate article in the Description of the

Plates.

An

equilateral Triangle, the apex upwards, is the symbol of

Mahadeva,

i.

Siva, or Fire personified.

e.

The same, the apex downwards, of Vishnu

The two figures intersecting each other
Six-pointed, the

XIII. A.

figure, PI.

god having

(the latter

PL

it

symbol of Siva and

4,

becomes the famous

five heads),

Solomons seal 2 of the later Magicians

regard

the SherJcun or

is

two elements in conjunction.

This five-pointed

Brahma

or Water.

and the Hindoos

still

as full of virtues.

XIII. A.

The union

3.

Water

of Fire and

is

on a large scale on each side of the gateway of the

as a talisman, although the building is a

A point,

Turn

is

work.

circle,

stands for Eternity.

Hence a Triangle within a

emblem

Unity

fort of Agra,

Mohammedan

the Deity, Self-existing.

of Trinity in

sculptured

Brahm

Circle is the

and the Circle inscribed within a

Triangle of the converse.

1
This mark is cut on the fallen
impost lying across the so-called altar.
It is nine inches long, and clearly
defined and may he described as the
13th character in series f, ending in
apparently the Roman letters |_V
having in fact much the form of a
Curious
sigla or nota scriptoria.
marks, intersecting circles, &c., occur
;

on the rocks at Routin Linn, Old

Bewick Doddington Moor, Northumberland; and on Long Meg, Cumber;

land.

(See

Archaeological Journal/'

vol.

xix.,

p.

78.)

The Stonehenge

mark

looks wonderfully like the contraction of the name Lucius.

Had

Dr. Stukeley discovered

it,

he

cer-

would have assigned the whole

fabric on its authority to that British
prince so famed in fable.
2
It must have got this appellation

tainly

in very ancient times, for in virtue

thereof

it

is

sculptured,

together

with the seven-branched candlestick,

on Jewish tombs dating from the
Lower Empire.

PRESERVATION OF GNOSTIC SYMBOLS BY FREEMASONS.

176

Worshippers of
jar

Female

Sacti, the

Principle,

with a right angle bisected by a line (A.

with (A.
oldest

6),

symbol of wonderful

^coins,

Greek

mark

their sacred

The Vishnaivas

5).

diffusion, for it occurs

on the

on Etruscan vases, on the Newton Stone,

Aberdeen, a Celtic monument

and in

ecclesiastical sculptures,

styled there the Tetragammaton, being supposed

made up

of

four r, and the sound confounded with that of the Sacred Tetra

grammaton. 3

Such a mark occurs amongst the signatures of the old Jaina

kings (belonging to the days of Buddhist supremacy), and also
the very intricate
coins, is

monogram which, when

it is

seen on Greek

Other sectarian marks are three

termed a Labyrinth.

parallel lines, arranged vertically or horizontally for different

deities

the wheel, the

and vesica

heart,

crescent,

piscis,

That the Gnostics borrowed these

modified in various ways.

symbols, adding to them others of Egyptian devising, will be

apparent on the comparison of the examples collected in the

plates.

Another and a very important circumstance in

must always be kept in view

this discussion

our Freemasons (as at present

organised in the form of a secret society) derive their

title

from

a mere accidental circumstance connected with their actual establishment.

It

was in the Common Hall of the London guild

of Freemasons (the trade) that their

first

meetings were held

under Christopher Wren for president in the time of the Commonwealth. Their real object was political the restoration of

monarchy

hence the necessary exclusion of the public, and the

oaths of secrecy enjoined on the members.

The pretence

of

promoting architecture, and the choice of the place where to hold

their meetings, suggested

by the

profession of their president,

were no more than blinds to deceive the existing government.

Similarly

marked the

tlie

Isis

worshippers

sacred vase of their god-

dess, before using it at her rites

which I

shall

of

produce an indubitable

The Buddhist Swartika

blem of Resignation

or

em-

hence adopted

by ancient princes of that

it may have passed

with the same acceptation into the
Byzantine category.
3

example.
2

for their seal

religion.

The

Hebrew.

Indeed

quadriliteral

name

of

God

in

PRESERVATION OF GNOSTIC SYMBOLS BY FREEMASONS.

But although

this

177

Society was convoked in London, and

established branches throughout the country, furnishing also

its

of secret recognition, and all for a

members with the means

had nothing political in its

was the meeting in London the commencement
The latter was the adaptation to a special
existence.

political end, yet in its true origin it

nature, neither

of

its real

purpose of another society, then in

crucians.

If

we

reflect

how rankly

its fullest

bloom, the Rosi-

and

flourished both astrology

alchemy at that time in England, and that the Bosicrucian

sect

was

of Protestant

essentially

grounds suspect that this sect already

amongst the educated

These were,

for the

classes,

most

and the philosophers of the day.

part, royalists, or at least discontented

with the existing government, or

patient under the

new

we may on good
numbered many members

growth,

else ardent republicans

despotism of Cromwell.

im-

In the Rosi-

crucian system Religion and Philosophy, the latter as yet

little

more than alchemy and astrology, were strangely interwoven

and the terminology of the one employed

and aspirations of the

The

to express the ideas

other.

best supported history of the rise of Rosicrucianism, and

that accepted

by Nicolai

(Tempel-Jierreri) points out for its

founder

a Lutheran mystic divine, J. Y. Andreae, almoner to the

of

Wurtemberg, early

in the seventeenth century.

Duke

His writings,

wherein the Rosy Cross prominently figures, were beyond

all

making known the existence of the

doubt the
But he appears merely to have
society to the general public.
borrowed the symbols and occult means of communication
first

indications

existing already from time

community

of Alchemists

immemorial amongst the antique

and Astrologers

(or in other

the philosophers and magnates of his day),

them towards a visionary scheme

of his

his apostleship

by attempting the conversion

of the mass.

The well-meaning

At

that time
II.

was the

the

Emperor Ru-

greatest patron of

all

and

so

all

commenced

of the most eminent

enthusiast had disregarded the

observation of the sagacious Julian, recorded

words

in order to direct

own, the union of

Christian sects in one universal brotherhood

dolphus

by Ammian

(xxi. 5),

the Curious Arts ever recorded in

history.

178

PRESERVATION OF GNOSTIC SYMBOLS BY FREEMASONS.

and confirmed by the experience of every succeeding century

(ours as

much

as any), nullas infestas hominibus bestias ut

Naturally

sunt sibi ferales plerique Christianorum expertus.

enough his scheme of universal brotherhood dissolved in

air as

soon as established, but the older philosophy bloomed with

renewed vigour under the fresh organisation and euphonious

name.

The London Freemasons

borrowed much of their phrase-

also

ology from Lord Bacons essay, yet fresh in mens minds, in

which, adopting the idea of the House of Wisdom, a technical

term with the Arab astrologers, he proposed the foundation

of a Solomons House, or a learned community dedicated
philosophy and the advancement of science.

to experimental

These philosophic and royalist

plotters, in order to cloak their

real object, conducted their proceedings according to the rules

laid

down

therein

and

and nomenclature they

this ceremonial

carefully maintain to the present day.

But

setting aside

claim to the creation of the

Andreass

immediate parent of Freemasonry, his famous Rosy Cross was,

ages before, the well-known badge of the Templars.

ing

how

obtained possessions,

male and female

and

swept away

In

at

had

affiliated

amongst the

would be an absurdity
1307.

Order

universally that

spread

to

Consider-

its

Europe,

throughout

laity

branches,

multitudes both

itself

to believe that all its traditions

it

were

one stroke by the suppression of the Order in

fact the Parisian

Templiers, a

name

still

borne

by

the most important division of the French Freemasons, pretend

that they have kept

up the succession

of

Grand Masters un-

broken, and even to have preserved the archives of the Order

ever since that date.

It is said that

Francis

I.

burnt

alive,

under circumstances of the most ingenious cruelty (in a fiery

1
bath), four unfortunates convicted of being Templars; a fact

which proves the continued existence

of that

Order down to a

period not very remote from that of the public manifestation of

that Umeida,

by the same

the Rosicrucians.

Certain

orders, extirpated

with extraordinary ferocity the remnant of

it is

Communicated

to

me by

a Brother.

kings

PRESERV ATION OF GNOSTIC SYMBOLS BY FREEMASONS.

the Albigenses

still

sect, it

This

lurking in the villages of Provence.

must be remembered, had from the

first

179

been represented

Catholics as genuine Manicheans, and as transplanted

by the

from the East, in comparatively recent times, after the

much

Crusade; and these statements have

first

truth in them.

If

Manicheans, they would naturally have preserved together with

their doctrines, the symbols
so

much

amongst

affected,
all

as

and tokens for mutual recognition

history and

grown yet more

remains

existing

declare,

Such devices had

the followers of the Gnosis.

into matters of necessity after persecution

had

transformed their congregations into actual secret societies.

An

important point

is

the fact that the Eosicrucians are

acknowledged even now amongst the Freemasons as a degree or

class,

although disclaimed as the parent stock, a truth which,

if

allowed, were utterly incompatible with the fraternitys claim

to

immemorial antiquity. Yet they professedly trace their descent

through the Templars up

to the fabulous origin

they arrogate to

their body.

But dismissing

all

these

speculations,

we

under no

are

necessity for connecting the Eosicrucians with the old Brothers

Temple, in order to account for their display of the

of the

antique symbols figuring so conspicuously in

many

of

Andrews

and so diligently illustrated (though often with mistaken

plates,

ingenuity)

by Yon Hammer

in

his

Mystery

of

Baphomet

Eevealed.

Yet even his misinterpreted examples prove the

same

and his Baphometic

truth,

idols

adored, according to

him, by the suppressed Order, are indubitably astrological and

cabalistic sigils of

pure Cinque-Cento workmanship and design,

One
Yon Hammers

and entirely Eosicrucian in their syncretism of symbols.

point alone about these figures suffices to upset
elaborate structure

the

Arabic legends cut upon them in the

recent Neskhi letter attest their modern date, for had they been

contemporary with the Templars the Cufic must have been employed.

Yet, at the same time,

fountain head of the tenets held in

these

legends indicate the

common by

all

such

frater-

nities.

Before considering this latter point,

the

better approached after a brief review of Yon

subject will

Hammers
n 2

be

theory.

PRESERVATION OF GNOSTIC SYMBOLS BY FREEMASONS.

180

This is sufficiently set forth in the title of his essay, viz.

Mysterium Baphometis Revelatum sen Fratres militiae Templi
:

qua Gnostici

et

quidem Ophiani,

apostasiae,

idololatriae

et

quidem impuritatis convicti per ipsa eorum monumenta. (Published in the Mines de lOrient, vol. vi.)
The treatise is illustrated with

numerous admirably-executed copperplates of magical

statuettes, architectural ornaments, mystical inscriptions, vases,

As concerns historical evidence, the main foundation

upon the Articles of Accusation against
the Templars, dispatched by Pope Clement to all archbishops, &c.,
of which the principal (for his purpose) are
Art. 42. Item quod ipsi per singulas pro vincias habeant Idola
videlicet capita quorum aliqua habebant tres facies, et alia unam

and

coins.

for his hypothesis rests

cranium

et aliqua

Art. 54.

humanum

habebant.

Item quod aliquod caput illorum idolorum cingebant

seu tangebant chordulis quibus se ipsos cingebant circa camiciam

seu carnem.
Art. 55.

Quod

in hac receptione singulis fratribus praedictae

chordulae tradebantur vel aliae longitudinis earum.

In

this girding themselves

creed and worn by all

Magus

(a

with a consecrated

string, there is

by the Zoroastrian
Parsees and probably preserved by Manes

a striking analogy to the

Icosti

prescribed

originally) in his

new

religion.

Other

articles,

not

necessary to quote, allege the permission, and even the injunction

But Von Hammers

of unnatural practices.

remarked, present the general outline of a

2

Hercules, and sometimes Silenus

faces, are triple

idols,

it

Roman

must be

Jupiter or

their heads, or rather their

eyes and ears are profusely distributed

all

over

He
Man of

the body, and they are covered with planetary hieroglyphics.

sets

them down without

hesitation as figures of the Old

the Templars, styled by one of the witnesses at their

trial

une

ydole avec trois faces.

These

statuettes are for the

most part girded with serpents,

whose heads they hold in various

is

The

entire list of these articles

subjoined to this section.

2

Classical types entirely

attitudes, a sufficient ground,

to the art of the twelfth

centuries.

unknown

and thirteenth

PRESERVATION OF GNOSTIC SYMBOLS BY FREEMASONS.

thinks

Von Hammer,

for adjudging

181

them to the Ophite mysteries

1
.

Some carry the Egyptian Tan (Masonic, Martellns, or Knocker)

In some the character of the heads

suspended round the neck.

is

female

in others the

two sexes are evidently conjoined.

But

the artistic composition of these fantastic statuettes, and the

Roman

taste so strongly

pervading the whole, show altogether

The

foreign to the quaint simplicity of early medievalism.

vases on

which he

lays

so

largest but six inches high

has

The second

reliefs.

2
.

three

much stress are small cups, the

They are of stone, and covered with

of these reliefs, explained

by him

as

relating to the Baptism of Eire, does in truth forcibly recall to

our minds the Twelve Penances of the Mithraic Rock-Tablets.

exhibits naked boys holding various instruments

whilst one blowing a horn

lyre, the

bucket of Anubis

the

within a furnace.

fire

savours

much

The

It

the axe, the

is

feeding

on the third, however,

relief

of Judaism, displaying the Lifting

up

of the Brazen

Serpent, though the reclining female appears rather as if caress-

ing the serpent than alarmed by its embrace

of the Temple, which a third female

the

command

front face

is

and the candlestick

quenching with a vase, at

of Mete a complete Jewish Solomon, standing in

,

with hands

raised,

whence drop

off chains.

Inter-

spersed are phalli and other Bacchic and astrological symbols.

But the Arabic legends in the modern lettering in this case also,
and yet more the classic air of the second design, prove to conviction that we have here nothing more than a portion of the

who

fattened

II. at

the end

apparatus of the Rosicrucian or alchemical quacks

upon the credulity

of that arch- virtuoso

of the sixteenth century

Rudolphus

ever since which date these vases

have been treasured up in the Imperial Cabinet.

To give an idea of V. Hammers style of explaining these

monuments, he interprets the Arabic legend on the

1 This attribute, together with the

numerous eyes studding the body, in
some instances, seem to betray an

acquaintance in

the

designer

with

Hindoo creations Indra for

example. But similar fancies found
similar

their

way even

Elizabeth

is

into

scroll dis-

dress.

pointed in a

Queen

gown

so

embellished.
2

The

figures

on them would make

one suspect these vases were employed

in the concoction of the Elixir of Life.

182

PRESERVATION OF GNOSTIC SYMBOLS BY FREEMASONS.

played by his Mete

bearded, yet female figure, whose sex

(a

unmistakeably revealed) thus

Stirps nostra

reditus

Ego

Septem

et

is

Exaltatur Mete germinans.

Tu

fuere.

es

unus Renegantium

7rjowicroe fit.

The

fact that so

few monuments

exist that can certainly

be

ascribed to the Manicheans (a sect that had swallowed up within

forms of Gnosticism during the interval

itself all the previous

between Constantines reign and Justinians) may be explained by

the fast-increasing barbarism of the times that produced so little
in the

way of art, however

degraded. 2

Or

the rigid character of the superstition

Magism and Judaism, and

idolatrous

The

and

may be

attributed to

begotten between

therefore regarding all imagery as

sinful.

history of the diffusion of Manicheism throughout Europe

In the middle of the seventh century, under

briefly this.

is

it

itself,

Constans

II.,

native of

Samosata,

Constantinus

broached the Paulician heresy, so called from

its

Sylvanus,

combination of

the doctrines of St. Paul with Zoroasters, but approximating

more closely

to the

former than did the similar and more ancient

The new teacher

theosophism of Manes.

one church the remnants of the Gnostic

numerous Manicheans

of Armenia,

Pontus and Cappadocia.

readily united
sects,

into

especially the

and the old Zoroastrians of

Incessantly persecuted

emperors, 3 their chief, Carbeas, founded a

new

by the Byzantine
capital, the

im-

pregnable city of Tephrice, in the mountains near Trebizond,

Whom

he makes the same as the

Sophia of the Ophites.

2 Their sacred hooks, their prayers,
and their spells, were made out on
perishable materials, parchments and
papyri, diligently sought out and
destroyed by every persecutor.
3 The extirpation of Gnosticism was
vigorously prosecuted by the last emperors of the West, and by the ByzanIn
tines, both orthodox and Arian.
this course the first example was set by

Magnus Maximus,

the British usurper

under Theodosius, by the execution of
Priscilian, bishop

principal

of Avila,

followers,

in

and

spite

his

of the

In the
same century Epiphanius boasts of
having by his information caused
seventy women, even of rank, to be
sent into exile, through the seductions
of some in whose number he had himself been drawn into joining their
interposition of St. Martin.*

sect.

It

may

reasonably be suspected

that this worthy renegade had in this

case saved himself from the fate of his
fellow-religionists

by turning evidence

against them, on the opening of the

persecution.

* Theodosius also
offence.

Priscillian

made Manicheism a capital

was a modified Manichean.

PRESERVATION OF GNOSTIC SYMBOLS BY FREEMASONS.

183

which, was ultimately destroyed by Basil, the Macedonian, about

a.d. 880.

In the middle of the preceding century Constantine

Copronymus had transplanted a considerable body of these

Armenian Paulicians to Thrace, where their numbers were
largely increased in the tenth century

by a colony transplanted

from the Chalybian Hills (Caucasus) into the valleys of Mount

Here

Haemus by John Zimisces.

the

their missionaries converted

neighbouring Bulgarians, whence a

new and more

odious

name to these sectaries. Warlike and fearless of death, we find

them serving in the armies of the Byzantine emperors, for instance,
of Alexius Comnenus, in their wars with the Normans of Sicily.
From this latter island they diffused their doctrines through Italy
:

they were numerous even in

Eome and

Milan, but spread with

Twelve canons

astonishing rapidity throughout Provence.

of

Orleans were burnt alive at once on the charge of belonging to

the sect.

These few

facts, selected

history, will suffice to

during the very ages

their prosperity

The Druses

and

of

from the long extent of their

show the wide

when

diffusion of their doctrines

the Templars were at the

summit

of

influence.

Mount Lebanon, though claiming

founder the Egyptian caliph Hakim, are in

all

their

for

probability the

remains of the numerous Gnostic sects noticed by Procopius as

flourishing there most extensively in his

tenets nothing authentic has ever

belief

amongst their neighbours

form of a

calf,

is,

come

own

times.

to light

their

that they adore an idol in the

and hold in their secret meetings orgies similar to

those laid to the charge of the Ophites in

Koman, of the Templars

in mediaeval, of the Freemasons [continental] in

But the point concerning us

residence of their

evidently handed
all

Of

the popular

here

is,

modern

times.

that these Druses hold the

Supreme Head to be in Scotland a tradition

down from the times when the Templars were

powerful in their neighbourhood.

Now

it is

a singular coin-

cidence that our Freemasons are often spoken of by

German

writers as the Scottish Brethren, but for what reason I have

been unable to discover.

The masters of mediaeval Europe in philosophy, science, and

many of the arts, were the Arabs, more especially those of Spain
;

and with their teaching they communicated other ideas besides

PRESERVATION OF GNOSTIC SYMBOLS BY FREEMASONS.

184

Yet the connexion between

those strictly comprised therein.

was

of itself so close, that such a result

Sa much

was

all

absolutely inevitable.

of primitive Gnosticism before its admixture with Chris-

tian revelation

was based upon Magian notions, that

logical ideas, that

on

is,

astro-

often most difficult to decide whether

it is

an

engraved stone be merely an astrological talisman or involves a

Thus the Decani

religious object.

whose

of the Signs,

figures

Teucer records were commonly worn as amulets, are often seen

bearing the name of Michael, and of other Jewish angels.

Mohammedanism, before the spread

ignorance had established everywhere the reign

flourishing times of

versal

In the
of uniof un-

questioning orthodoxy, there existed, and probably originated in

Persia, a

numerous body comprising the learned

of the religion,

styling themselves Sufi, clearly deriving this title from the

Now

2 o^oi, their predecessors.

this

name appears

assumed as equivalent in meaning to the old

understanding the depth of things divine

Greek

have been

to

IYworcjcoi, those

and the tenets they

held were precisely those of the older Antitadce 1 as to the indifference of

all actions

involving the body alone, and the invalidity of

the Jewish moral law (the production of the Demiurgus) as to the

As

regulation of the conduct of the illuminati.

it is

a constant

charge against the primitive Gnostics that they conformed without

scruple, outwardly at least, to the established worship of the
state or city they inhabited, it is certain that the sects of Syria

and Egypt, such

as the

lessly exterminated

Manicheans of the Lebanon, so remorse-

by Justinian, and

their brother

throughout Asia Minor, persecuted with

Byzantine emperors, until

their

sway by the early

that all such religionists

the

new

all

sectaries

equal zeal

by the

those regions were wrested from

it is both natural and certain

would gladly shelter themselves under

caliphs,

religion of their tolerant

Arab conquerors in the seventh

and eighth centuries, and either profess Mohammedanism, and

save their

liberty,

or

continue as tributaries in unmolested

exercise of their former faith, being confounded

enquiring rulers with the general mass of

of

Egypt and

infidels.

by

their un-

The

sects

Syria, says Gibbon, enjoyed a free toleration

Literally, Ordinance-haters.

PRESERVATION OF GNOSTIC SYMBOLS BY FREEMASONS.

185

under the shadow of the Arabian caliphs; and thus maintained their secret notions and observances without farther notice
or molestation.

Now

inasmuch as these

Sufi

were composed exclusively of

the learned amongst. the Persians and Syrians, and learning

that time

meant

astrology, the

little

by

more than a proficiency in medicine and

two points that brought the Eastern sages

into

amicable contact with their barbarous invaders from the West,

easy to see

is

it

how

may have imbibed

the latter

the secret

doctrines simultaneously with the science of those who were their

instructors in all matters pertaining to science

and

The

art.

doctrine involved the grand idea of one universal creed

Sufi

which could be secretly held under any profession of an outward

faith
and in fact took virtually the same view of religious
;

systems as that in which the ancient philosophers had regarded

such matters.

In our day the admission of an universal religion

by the Freemasons, expressed by their requisition from the

candidate of nothing more than an acknowledgment of the belief
in one God, is regarded with pious horror by the bigots of every
variety in the Christian scheme.

That the constant intercourse between Syria and Europe,

first by the flocks of pilgrims to Jerusalem, then by
by the establishment of the Frankish kingdom in that

maintained,
Crusades,
city

and of the various principalities on the

all,

by the permanent foundation

of the

coast, and,

above

two great military

Orders having their head-quarters in Palestine, produced vast

effects

upon the Western

upon the Mediterranean,

Arab influence manifests

nations,
is

more

a fact

itself in

especially on those seated

which cannot be overlooked.

the poetry of the Troubadours

like its origin half amatory half mystic, as dissimilar to the

practical character of the

Roman

lighter verse as the pointed

by the

tent and curtain (the

which the same cause transplanted into the centre of
France), 1 is to the massy Romanesque edifices which it so rapidly
architecture, its forms suggested

germ

of

The Crusades were eminently a

French idea, and the soldiers in the
most important, almost exclusively
1

Frenchmen
tories in

or princes holding

France.

terri-

PRESERVATION OF GNOSTIC SYMBOLS BY FREEMASONS.

186

How many

replaced.

arts,

the most prized in those ages, are

importations from Syria and Egypt

glass- working, in all the pro-

cesses connected with the manufacture of ornamental and coloured

vessels,

and painted windows, damasquining on

tivation, enamelling, majolica,

most of the terms applied

purely Arabic,

As

e. g.

steel, silk cul-

and the coinage of gold.

In Italian

such arts are

to the productions of

1
zecca, tazza, rocca (for citadel), cameo, &c.

regards the diffusion of Oriental notions in Europe, the

most important circumstance bearing upon our subject

eagerness with which Manicheism

during the two centuries preceding the

The

latter

we

is

the

was embraced in France

the Templars.

fall of

find during their residence in Syria exhibiting a

tolerant spirit, the most inconsistent possible with the original

object of their foundation; forming alliances with

petty

Moslem

against the

chiefs able to assist

common enemy,

them

any of the

own

in holding their

Amongst

the Soldan of Egypt.

these allies figures the head of a true society of Antitadce the

,

Chief of the Assassins 2 or Old Man of the Mountain,

The Baphometic
which

is

idol or

3,

so

figures

Lebanon.

old mans head, the adoration of

the constant charge against the Templars, bears a strong

resemblance to the rude designs given by

1,

i. e.

me

in Plate

ii.

3, vi.

frequently occurring cut upon large green jaspers

whereof neither work nor design agree with those mark-

ing the true Gnostic talismans dating from the

Lower Empire,

but rather have something in them bespeaking an Arabian and

Mediaeval origin.

Yon Hammer,

in his elaborate treatise,

amongst

the numerous examples he has so indefat.igably collected, adduces

many symbols

in their nature quite foreign to Catholicism,

indeed of a truly Gnostic and Oriental character.

and

Amongst these

the most striking are the Three Yases (already described) with
their unintelligible Arabic legends,

especially the

as exemplified in the

tice

Italian Gothic,

civil

branch,

which he

more

buildings of the great maritime cities

Venice, Genoa, Pisa

portation from Cairo

is

a direct im-

and Rosetta, and

has no connection at all with the contemporary French style.

name

believes to be the

derived from their prac-

themselves with
Hashish, or extract of hemp, before
attempting any of the desperate missions enjoined by their head; thus
of intoxicating

the word was adopted into the Italian

in

its

present sense.

PRESERVATION OF GNOSTIC SYMBOLS BY FREEMASONS.

187

true Sangraal that mystic cup shining so conspicuously in the

,

early romances of chivalry

1
the quest for the Sangraal being

one of the high adventures prosecuted in the Mort d Arthur.

is

true that at

first

It

sight these singular vases or Fonts, as he

terms them, according to his hypothesis concerning the Baptism

of

Mete (or of Wisdom

much

baptized) afford a

into

which the neophyte had

be re-

to

stronger foundation for his charges than

For the

any of the other monuments he has brought forward.

obscene sculptures placed so conspicuously in their churches,

in

allusion,

he explains, to the Venus Mascula

as

therein

adored, are to be found equally abundant in other mediaeval

churches totally unconnected with the Templars (notably on the

capitals of that at Arcueil near Paris).

Such sculptures may

either have a moral concealed in them, the

particular vice

or,

censure of some

yet more likely, be merely the ebullition of

the gross wit of the times.

As

for his

Idols, their recent

character has been sufficiently demonstrated above.

But

his

great error lies in his attempting to identify the heresy embraced

by the Templars with the Ophite,

that primitive form of the

Gnosis, and one swallowed up, ages before their foundation, in

the over-spreading flood of Manicheism, which at

Syria, doubtless

the inquiring spirits of the Temple, as

same time in Italy and Provence.

ever, that

he has committed

inexplicable

its

source

had carried away as large a portion amongst

is

The

it

was intoxicating

the building so

word Mete which he

at the

greatest absurdity,

how-

much upon

finds in these inscriptions

the
for

by the Gnostics as synonymous with Sophia, which his whole argument assumes as an
established fact.
And in the same strange manner does he interpret the numerous Masons marks he has collected, though all

the archaic form Metis was never used

in reality are identical in character with those figured in

my

plates.

The

profession of continence, at least as far as regards the

propagation of the species, which was the doing in a special

manner the work

this

of the Demiurgus,

and perpetuating the reign

Perfect chastity was the necessary condition for attaining unto the sight of

wondrous

vessel.

PRESERVATION OF GNOSTIC SYMBOLS BY FREEMASONS.

188

of Matter

was from the

this profession

tion of every form of the

adopted to keep their

vow

first

inviolate

Clemens Alexandrinns, where he quotes

to

the grand distinc-

The strange means they

may be learnt by referring

Gnosis.

the ancient fable of Saturn devouring his

their explanation of

own

and

children,

Epiphanius in his account of the Ophite Eucharist.

other doctrine of the Gnostics

is

the Buddhist influence more

traceable than in this, for any merit in asceticism, merely for

own

was never dreamed

sake,

of

to

In no

its

by the Greek philosophy, the

offspring of reason in its brightest and most uncorrupted de-

velopment.

conduced

But such an

to the

affectation of purity

most mightily

spread of the Gnostic tenets in every age of

their promulgation

Any

1
.

teaching

is

sure to obtain flocks of

converts which, in addition to the promise of explaining fully

matters too high for mans understanding, makes a great profession of asceticism,

and holds forth the exaltation of the poor

and the damnation of the rich and luxurious.

For the vulgar

ever admire what

it

is

difficult,

however useless be the

its

consequences

if

merely because

fully

carried out

abstinence from sensual pleasures

tasks, so is the

show of

is

difficult,

result in itself or even pernicious

is

and inasmuch

them

for

as

in

the

the hardest of all

similar self-denial the surest

means of

obtaining influence over brutish intelligences incapable of distinguishing the means from the end.

Moreover such doctrines

work powerfully upon the natural enviousness and greed

vulgar souls

of

those actually poor being ever the vast majority

in the land, they most joyfully accept the teaching that promises

the punishment of their betters hereafter, merely on the score of

their superior happiness in this life

and as scarcely any person

ever considers himself to be a rich man, but

ing upwards towards a point that

still

is

constantly climb-

recedes before

him

at

each successive stage of his ascent, even such a one has the
comfortable assurance that he himself continues in the
poor,

and that the anathema

diately above

As

him on the

is

social ladder.

In this

of the

imme-

lies the secret

the experience of all ages attests, from Guatamas to

dollings.

list

the heritage of the one

Hans Knipper-

PRESERVATION OF GNOSTIC SYMBOLS BY FREEMASONS.

189

of the success of Manicheism, its absorption into itself of all the

more ancient Gnostic forms, and, more than

which

rapidity with

all,

of the vast

overspread those provinces where the

it

was the most richly endowed, and its clergy,

the regulars, attracted the greatest envy by their

Catholic Church
especially

and pomp.
The Templars began

affluence

hard, laborious life

To mark

their career in actual poverty, leading a

that of the

monk and the soldier combined.

common seal of the Order

the original device or

this,

was two knights mounted on the same horse, the most striking
exemplification of poverty that could be imagined in the days of
chivalry.

Becoming ashamed of such a badge as they grew in

it into the somewhat similar outline of a

power, they altered

Pegasus
there

at

upward

his

least this is the old tradition.

was from the

flight,

first,

Winged Horse

their career

was drawing

cruel destruction,

genious

mode

by some

doubtless

the brethren,

to its close,

down upon them

amidst the wealth and luxury that brought

their

in

an allusion to the heavenward destination of

And when

their chivalry.

Perhaps, however,

in the choice of the

in-

of self-deception, flattered themselves into a belief

that they were continuing to keep their

vows

as faithfully as in

the very springtime of their institution.

The

strange and obscene ceremonies observed on the admis-

sion of the aspirant into the various secret societies that flourished

under the Lower Empire and during the Middle Ages, are
only faint traditions of the penances or tortures

all

exacted from

the neophyte in the Mithraic Cave, some account of which has

already been given (p. 51).

MitJiraici, especially in

caves, altars,

and
it

and inscriptions

this country.

so

still

readily

extensively, on account of
;

widely diffused were the

existing in

Germany, France,

In these Celtic regions the Mithraic religion,

would seem, was

Druidical faith

How

the West, appears from the innumerable

its

embraced, and flourished so

close

analogy to the ancient

for in addition to Plinys important statement

(xxx. 4), Gallias utique possedit (Magicam) et

quidem ad nostram

memoriam namque Tiberii Caesaris principatus sustulit Druidas

eorum et hoc genus vatum medicorumque per senatus consultum.
Quid ego hasc commemorem in arte Oceanum quoque transgressa
:

PRESERVATION OF GNOSTIC SYMBOLS BY FREEMASONS.

190

ad naturae

et

inane pervecta

Britannia hodieque celebrat

tantis ceremoniis ut dedisse Persis videri possit

mundo

adeo

ista toto

quanquam discordi et sibi ignoto. Nec satis

quantum Eomanis debeatur qui sustulere monstra
quibus hominem occidere religiosissimum erat, mandi vero
consensere

sestimari potest

in

by

instituted

Magica Pliny understands tbe

By

etiam saluberrimum.
rites

and

Zoroaster,

domestic chaplain

to

first

Xerxes

in

published by Osthanes

his

Grecian

Besides this declaration, the revived Druidism, as

its final

brief struggle

with Christianity, as

it

it is set

appears in
forth in the

mystical poems of Taliesin, composed in the seventh century,

a religion offering in

many

of the

Two

and the renovation of

all

is

points a wonderful analogy to the

Thus

ancient Persian tenets.

and antagonism

expedition.

it

expressly declares the existence

Principles, the final triumph of

things

2
.

Now

Good

Manes himself was

nothing more than a Zoroastrian heretic, having engrafted upon

his proper religion the transcendental Buddhistic notions picked

up by

his master

Terminthus during his Indian

travels.

Is

there not a possibility that some sparks of the antique Mithraic

faith

may have

lingered unnoticed in the

West

until

made

to

up anew by the importation of its latest descendant,

Manicheism ? Indeed one may even now discover a parody of
the awful antique maintained in the minutest particulars by the
flame

modern convivial

hetcBria , for

the soldier (Jeromes Miles), the

lowest grade amongst the Mithraic illuminati, has yet a representative in the

who

scale,

armed man or

Tiler,

an

official,

the last in the

stands sentinel at the door of the Freemasons secret

conclave.

But
seem

to

return to our subject;

the foregoing considerations

to afford a rational explanation of the

During the short lived indepen-

dence of the Britons

drawal of the

after

Roman legions

the within 440.

manner in which the

arcaded in regular masonry, with the

form always appropriated to the worship of Fire, as in the Roman Vesta

and the great Magian shrine

There is a curious analogy between the Druidical temple, always

circular, whether composed of natural
blocks, or as in that latest example at

temples,

Lantef in Bretagne (Caylus, vi., pi.

124) of two concentric enclosures

open circular towers.

at Gazacus, destroyed in Heracliuss

invasion (Cedrenus,

bre fire-temples

i.

at

723).

Balkh

The Gueare

still

PRESERVATION OF GNOSTIC SYMBOLS BY FREEMASONS.

genuine Gnostic symbols (whether
meaning, or kept as mere

retaining any mystic

still

Order declare)

lifeless forms, let the

have come down to these times,

paraded as things holy and

still

Treasured up amongst the dark sectaries

of deep significance.

Lebanon and the Sufis of Persia, communicated

Templars, and transmitted to their heirs the Brethren

to the

of the

Rosy

Cross, they have kept

instance, Nicolai

thinks

up an unbroken existence

that

formula

as offered

of the
1

For

Pentagon (Pentacle) or

their

Solomons Seal was the symbol

2

191

mentioned

by the ascending

the

in

Ophite

soul to each planetary

genius in order to extort from them a free passage to the supernal

symbol
figure

been above noticed with what reverence

It has

sphere.

is

yet regarded by the Hindoos.

may be

In the Middle Ages

a charm against

fire

similarly interpreted

this figure

(unavailing, alas

was always painted up in buildings

to its ravages,

this

five-pointed

its

traced the same notion of the hidden virtues of

that numeral, as in the Delphic

Plutarch.

In

to its

liable,

by

being considered as
knightly wearers), 3

from their destination,

and therefore more particularly in brew-houses, as

peculiarly exposed to such a danger.

And

thus these symbols, in their origin embodying the highest

mysteries of Indian theosophy, afterwards eagerly embraced

by

the subtle genius of the Alexandrian Greeks, and combined by

them with the hidden wisdom of Egypt, in whose captivating

and profound doctrines the few bright spirits of the Middle
Ages sought a refuge from the childish

fables then constituting

orthodoxy, engendered by monkery upon

histic stock

primal Budd-

the

these sacred symbols exist even now, but serve

Lessing boldly asserts

(Fortset-

zung des Ernst, p. 53), the Lodges

of the Templars were in the very
highest repute in the twelfth and
thirteenth centuries and out of such
a Templars Lodge, that had teen
constantly kept up in the middle of
London, was the Society of Freemasons established in the seventeenth
century by Sir Christopher Wren.
2
For instance in its invocation to
;

Ildabaoth (genius of Saturn),

O First

and Seventh One! born

power

chief

Word

gence, perfect

to rule with

of the pure Intelli-

work

in the sight of the

Father and the Son, by presenting to

thee in this Seal the Sign of Life I
open the gate which thy power hath
,

closed to the world,

thy dominion.

and

this for its appearance

3

As Beranger

freely traverse

sufficient

reason

on tombstones.

sings

Les heretiques nont pas trouve

Onguent pour la brfilure.

192

CHARGES AGAINST THE TEMPLARS.

merely for

tlie

what

insignia of

probably nothing more in

best is but a charitable,

at

present form than a convivial,

its

So the golden Pentagon of Apollo, which of yore

institution.

blazed high above the Delphic shrine, and which, though shorn
of its dignity,

still

served during the Middle Ages to defend

cities against the perils of lightning

last to

and of

fire,

has come at

be degraded (throughout Germany) into the outward and

visible sign of a tavern.

CHARGES AGAINST THE TEMPLARS.

The following

are the

main

articles of accusation

amongst the

by the Pope to all archbishops, bishops, and papal commissaries, upon which to examine the knights: in accordance
120, sent

with the bull Faciens misericordiam (Du Puys Hist.

sunt Articuli

Isti

super quibus

p.

262)

inquiretur contra Fratres

Templi quorum mentio in superiore bulla Papse de-

Militiae

mentis Y.

facta.

Primo, quod

licet assererent sancte

ordinem

fuisse institutum

Sede Apostolica approbatum, tamen in receptione fratrum

et a

praedicti Ordinis et

quandoque

post, servabantur atque fiebant a

praedictis Fratribus quae sequuntur.

Yidelicet quod quilibet in receptione sua vel quandoque

1.

post, vel

quam

cito

terat abnegabat

Jesum,

et

commoditatem ad

haec recipiens habere po-

Christum aliquando crucifixum,

quandoque Deum,

et

et

quandoque

quandoque Beatam Yirginem,

et

quandoque omnes Sanctos Sanctasque Dei, inductus seu monitus

per

illos

5.

qui

eum

recipiebant.

Item, quod dicebant et dogmatizabant receptores

recipiebant, Christum

non

esse

Yerum Deum,

illis

quos

vel quandoque

Jesum, vel quandoque Crucifixum.

6.

Item, quod dicebant

illis

quos recipiebant ipsum fuisse

Filium prophetam.
7.

Item, ipsum non fuisse passum pro redemptione humani

generis, nec crucifixum sed pro sceleribus suis.

8.

Item, quod nec receptores nec recepti habebant spem salva-

tionis habendae per

Jesum,

et

vel aequipollens, vel simile.

hoc dicebant

illis

quos recipiebant

CHARGES AGAINST THE TEMPLARS.

9.

193

Item, quod faciebant illos quos recipiebant spuere super

Crucem seu super figuram seu sculptum Crucis

Cbristi

licet

10. Item,

et

imaginem

interdum qui recipiebantur spuerent juxta.

quod ipsam Crucem pedibus conculcari quandoque

mandabant.
12. Item,

quod mingebant

et conculcabant

mingere faciebant super ipsam Crucem

interdum

et eos

et

hoc in die Yeneris

quod adorabant quendam Cattum

sibi in ipsa congre-

Sanctas aliquoties faciebant.

14. Item,

gatione apparentem quandoque.

15. Item,

quod ipsum faciebant in vituperatione Cbristi

et fidei

ortho doxae.
16. Item,

quod non credebant

20. Item,

quod credebant

in sacrificium altaris.

et dicebant eis

quod Magnus Ma-

gister a peccatis poterat absolvere.

26. Item,

quod in receptione Fratrum hujus Ordinis, vel

interdum recipiens et receptus aliquando se deoscula-

circa,

bantur in ore vel in umbilico seu in ventre nudo, vel in ano seu
in spina dorsi.
29. Item, aliquando in virga virili.
30. Item,

quod

in receptione sua, ilia faciebant juxta eos qni

Ordinem non

recipiebant quod

exirent.

32. Item,

quod receptiones

33. Item,

quod propter hoc contra dictum Ordinem vehemens

istas clandestine faciebant.

suspicio a longis temporibus laboravit.

36. Item,

quod Fratribus quos recipiebant dicebant quod de

invicem possent unus cum

alio

commisceri carnaliter.

37. Item,

quod hoc licitum erat

38. Item,

quod debebant hoc facere ad invicem

42. Item,

quod

et aliqua

43. Item,
cialiter in

cranium

quod

ilia

facer e.
et pati.

per singulas provincias habebant Idola,

quorum

videlicet Capita

unam

ipsi

illis

aliqua habebant

humanum

Tres Facies

et alia

habebant.

idola vel illud idolum adorabant et spe-

eorum magnis

capitulis et congregationibus.

49. Item,

quod dicebatur quod

50. Item;

quod

51. Item,

quod omnes divinos ordines dabat

52. Item,

quod

illud

Caput poterat eos

salvare.

divites facere.
eis.

facit arbores florere.

CHARGES AGAINST THE TEMPLARS.

194
53. Item,

quod terram germinare.

54. Item,

quod aliquid Caput praedictorum idolorum cingebant

seu tangebant cbordulis quibus se ipsos cingebant circa cami-

siam seu carnem.

55. Item,

quod in

sui reeeptione singulis Fratribus praedictae

cbordulae tradebantur vel

aliae

longitudinis earum.

56. Item,

quod in venerationem

57. Item,

quod injungebant

idoli haec faciebant.

quod

iis

dictis cbordulis praemite-

litur se cingerent et continue portarent

et

hoc faciebant etiam

de nocte.
61. Item,

quod qui nolebant

praedicta in sui reeeptione facere

aut post interficiebantur, aut carceri mancipabantur.

64. Item,

non

quod injungebant

eis

per Sacramentum ne praedicta

revelarent.

65. Item,

quod sub poena mortis vel

68. Item,

quod

si

carceris.

capiebantur quod revelarent, morte vel car-

cere affligebantur.
69. Item,

quod injungebant

nisi fratribus
73. Item,

eis

quod non

confiterentur aliquibus

ejusdem Ordinis.

quod

praedicta fiebant et servabantur in locis ultra

mare in quibus Magister Generalis

et

Conventus ejusdem Ordinis

pro tempore sunt morali.

74. Item,

quod

praedicta Abnegatio Crucis fiebat aliquando in

praesentia Magistri et conventus praedictorum.

79. Item,

80.
83.

quod de consuetudine

antiqua.

Item, quod de Statuto Ordinis praedicti.

Item, quod receptiones Fratrum dicti Ordinis

communiter modis
90. Item,

praedictis in toto

quod alium

modum

fiebant

Ordine supradicto.

recipiendi in dicto Ordine fratres

non servabant.
97. Item, quod clam consueverunt tenere sua Capitula.
98. Item, quod clam, ac in primo somno, vel in prima

vigilia

noctis.

quod clam, et expulsa tota alia familia de domo et

domus ut omnes de familia illis noctibus quibus teneant

99. Item,

clausuris

Capitula jaceant extra.

100. Item,

quod clam

quod

sic

se

includunt ad tenenda

Capitula ut omnes januas domus et ecclesiae in quibus tenent

SIX ARTICLES AGAINST

THE ITALIAN TEMPLARS.

Capitula firment adeo firmiter quod nullus

accessus ad eos nec juxta

de

factis vel dictis

eorum.

domus

super tectum

neo esse possit

ut possit quicunque videre vel audire

quod clam adeo

101. Item,

sit

195

quod

scilicet

ponere excubiam

vel ecclesiy in quibus tenent capitulum ad

providendum nequis locum in quo teneant capitulum appropinquet.

104. Item,

quod major error viget

quod

et viguit

ipsi tenent

temporibus quod Magister Magnus possit

et tenuerunt retroactis

quy

absolvere fratres Ordinis a peccatis etiam non confessatis,

confiteri propter

aliquam erubescentiam vel timorem penitently

injungendy vel infligendy omiserint.

108. Item,

quod quidquid Magnus Magister maxime cum con-

ventu suo faciebat, ordinabat, statuebat, totus Ordo tenere

observare babebat
109. Item,

et

et

eadem observabat.

quod hyc potestas

sibi

competebat et in eo

resi-

debat ab antiquo.
114. Item,

quod multi Fratres predicti Ordinis, propter

tates et errores

foedi-

ejusdem Ordinis exierunt nonnulli ad religionem

aliam transeuntes, et nonnulli in seculo remanentes.

116. Item,

quod predicta omnia

et singula

nota sunt et mani-

festa inter Fratres Ordinis.

117. Item,

fama

quod de

his est publica vox, opinio

tarn inter Fratres dicti Ordinis

120. Item,

quam

quod Magnus Magister Ordinis,

Pryceptor Cypri,

Pictaviy,

communis

et

extra.

Normandiy,

Yisitator,

et

Magnus

quamplures

alii

Pryceptores et nonnulli Fratres, dicti Ordinis premissa confessi

fuerint tarn in judicio

quam

extra coram solemnibus personis, et

in pluribus locis etiam personis publicis.

SIX ARTICLES ALLEGED AGAINST THE ITALIAN

TEMPLARS.
1.

Tirones qui primum religionem Templariorum ingredie-

bantur

Deum

blasphemabant

et

Christum, Beatam Dei Matrem

Mariam et omnes sanctos abnegabant, super Christum et imaginem Jesu

Christi spuebant et pedibus conculcabant

Christum
o 2

ELEVEN ARTICLES IN THE CHRONIQUE

196

ST.

DENYS.

falsum fuisse propbetam neque pro redemptione generis bumani

passum aut crucifixum

2.

esse affirmabant.

Caput quodam faciem albam quasi bumanam

capillis nigris et crispantibus

quidem

et circa

prse se ferens

collum deauratis quod

Militis Sancti fuerat cultu latrine adorabant, oraciones

eo faciebant, et cingulis quibusdam illud cingentes

illis

ipsis

quasi salutares forent se ipsos accingebant.

3.

Verba

4.

Tirones receptos osculis in ore, umbilico, et membris quae

consecrationis in

missa faciendo omittebant.

pudor occuluit in loco capitulari mox atque babitum induissent

fatigabant.
5.

6.

A versa libidine omnes promiscue sese inquinabant.

Nemini revelare quae vel in aurora vel in primo crepusculo

faciebant juramento prestito promittebant, aliaque nefanda perpetrabant.

ELEVEN ARTICLES GIVEN IN THE CHRONIQUE EE

ST.

DENTS.

Vie de Philippe

Les

forfaits

pourquoi

et pris, et contre

les

Chap.

le Bel.

66.

Templiers furent ars et condamnez

eux approuvez

(si

comme Ton

dit) et

daucuns

deux en prison reconnuz sensuivent.

Le Premier

Article de leur forfaits est tel

point en Dieu fermement, bt quand

plier si nestoit

Quand

tantot etoit

icelui

ils lui

3.

donnoient

Car tantot apres

une

toile polie,

ils alloient
vieille

obscure, et tantot le nouvel

du

et passant pardessu

ciel

et

adorer une Idole, et pour certain

peau ainsi comme toute embame

et illecques certes le

yeux

et

Templier mettoit sa

en lui tres fermement croyoient

icelle avoit es fosses des

clarte

mais

les draps.

en sa douce figure cracboit.

tres vile foi et creance, et

en

un nouveau Tem-

nouvel Templier avait vetu les draps de lOrdre

mene en une cbambre

icelle Idole etait

comme

Quils ne croient

ils le faisoient,

Templier remoit Dieu par sa male aventure,

la croix et

faisoient

de nullui sceu comment

bien etoit veu et sceu comment

2.

ils

escarboncles reluisans

pour certain toute leur esperance

et

comme

etoit

en

ELEVEN ARTICLES IN THE CHRONIQUE

icelle et etoit leur

Dieu souverain,

et

ST.

memement

DENYS.

197

en

se affioit

lui

de bon coenr.

Car

4.

ils

Outremer

recommrent

il

fut pris

nne cite trahirent

Que

5.

si le

ils

anssi la trabison

que

S.

et

Acre

par lenr grande misprision.

peuple Cbrestien fut procbainement

de T Outremer

Louis ent en

en ces parties et mis en prison

alle es parties

avoient faits tels ordinances et convenances au

ils

Soldan de Babilon quils avoient par leur mauvaissete aperte-

ment
6.

Roy

vendus.

les Cbrestiens

Que eux reconnurent du

tresor

du Roy avoir donne, qui au

avoit fait contraicte, laquelle cbose etoit moult

dommageable

au Royaume.
7.

Car

comme

si

Ion dit

ils

connurent

pour leur hypocrisie habitoient lun a

Pourquoi

c etoit

8.

moult de

Que

si

de

charnellement.

faits

mais Dieu par sa piete souffre

felonies.

nul Templier bien afferme en leur idolatrie mourut

en sa malice aucunement
lui

lautre

merveille que Dieu souffroit tels crimes et

sodomies detestables etre

faire

pecbe dberesie, et

le

ils le

faisoient ardoir et de la poussiere

donnoient a manger aux nouveaux Templiers et ainsi plus

fermes leur idolatrie et leur creance tenoient, et de tout deprisoient la Croix de J esu-Cbrist.

Que

9.

une

si

aucun Templier eut eu autour

ne fut reconnue

foi

lui ceinte

ou

liee

courroie laquelle etoit leur Mathometerie apres ce jamais sa

:

tant avoit ellee sa foi et sa loi affirmee et

affichee.

10.

Que

leur Ordre ne doit nul enfant baptiser ni lever des

saints fonds

Thostel ou

tant

femme

comme

ils

gist denfant

pourront abstenir, ni entrer en

sil

ne sen va du tout en tout a

reculons, laquelle cbose est detestable a raconter.

cieulx

forfaits

et

Et

ainsi

crimes furent du Souverain eveque,

pour

Pape

Clement, et de plusieurs Arcbeveques, eveques, cardinaulx, con-

damnes.
11.

Car encore faisoient

ils

pis: car

un enfant nouveau

gendre dun Templier et une pucelle etoit

This

is

the old scandal of the

first

The

world,

Perfect Passover

(p.

129).

cuit et roti 1

Christians were accused

says

en-

au feu

by the
Minucius Felix, of in-

E DELPHICUM.

198

et toute la graisse otee,

et

de eelle etoit sacree et ointe leur

Idole.

The charges

against the Order are fully discussed "by

(who attempts

to disprove

them) in

his

schichte des Tempelherren Ordens (1781), and

(who takes the other

side) in his

Versuch

Anton

Versuch einer Ge-

by Fr. Nicolai
Beschuldi-

fiber die

gungen welche dem Tempelherren Or den gemacht worden

iiber

und

dessen Geheimniss (1782).

The

letter

DELPHICUM

placed so conspicuously in

inscriptions is the famous

which Plutarch has

left

many

of the Gnostic

of Delphi, on the real signification of

He

us a most interesting treatise.

the various theories then current as to

with their wonted vanity explained

its origin.

it

gives

The Greeks

as denoting the

mere

numeral, and referring to the genuine and original number of

later times made up to
by the addition of two others having
but slight claims to that honour. The legend went that these
Five Wise Men to commemorate the accidental meeting of all at
Delphi had dedicated the numeral carved in wood which decaying was replaced by the Corinthians with one in bronze, and this
again at a later date by Livia Augusta was transmuted into gold,
as more consistent with the dignity of that god whose offspring

the famous

the

now

44

Wise Men, which was in

established Seven

her husband boasted himself to

be,

and whose received image he

represented in his features.

Others explained the letter as representing by

sound in the Greek mouth the declaration

el,

44

its

Thou

proper
art, ad-

dressed to the Godhead, and equivalent in force to the epithet

God given by the Jews to Jehovah, and imitated

by the Christians in their O UN, a title of the Deity.
But it is evident that the primary meaning of the symbol was

the Living

during each neophyte on his admission to plunge a knife into an infant

concealed under a heap of flour the
body then serving for a banquet to
;

the whole congregation.

After they

had become the dominant

party, they

transferred the charge to their

dissenters.

own

E DELPHICUM.

199

numerical alone, and denoted the number Five, a number sacred

in

itself,

and not

The

Greece.

from

so

idea of

its

reference to the fabled Sages of

its

virtue

is

and connected

of Indian source,

From

with the five-headed form assigned to Brahma.

made

its

way

to Delphi, in

India

it

company with the Gorgon-heads,

themselves masks of Bhavani the Destroyer, that guarded the

a singular connexion recorded by Euripides in his
The Omphalos indeed, shaded with wreaths and encompassed by Gorgons, was, as its form shows (with Apollo thereon
oracle itself

Ion.

seated on the coins of the Seleucidae, his direct descendants), 1

nothing more than the Brahminical Lingam. 2

upon Incantations

In the chapter

171) the connexion between Bhavani in

(p.

another character and the Ephesian Diana has already been

pointed out.

In the

dawn

first

of Grecian philosophy

we

find Pythagoras

building his whole system upon the mystic virtue of Numbers;

and Plato has in his Eepublic a section on that head which
Basilides himself might claim for

times

formal

As

mode

of

mysteries have a ludicrous side, this holy

all

given

profound obscurity.

its

In our

Punch or council of five was the

deliberating upon all important matters of state.

with the Sikhs, to hold a

its

name

to the

number has

well-known beverage from the

dients that go to its concoction

perhaps, because

it

five ingre-

necessarily

attended the coming together in conclave of that mystic

of Europeans at the period

many

the introduction of so

But

number
when our language was enriched by
other Hihdostanee words.

after all, this lunar-shaped

may

have in

been nothing more than a Hindoo caste-mark

mark of Vishnus followers, VU

must also be borne in mind that

the

Delphi,

many

this

alteration

its

true origin

indeed,

placed upon

it

becomes

its side.

It

was hallowed at
the vowel came into

figure

centuries before that shape of

Greek alphabet, an

the

if

which only dates from Do-

mitians times.
1

Or

where

in the

it is

earlier

clasped

vase-painting,

by Orestes seeking

sanctuary from the pursuing

Eume-

Always sculptured

cone,

a symbol having

as

an obtuse

nothing ob-

its

appearance; the hidden

interpreta-

tion for the few.

3

nides.
2

scene in

meaning being a matter of

Pl.

See the patterns of Caste Marks,

XIII. A.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATES.

200

DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATES.

(The gems are drawn

to

double the actual

Plate
No.

1.

size.)

I.

The Jackal-headed Anubis, furnished with two

pair of

wings springing from his sides and thighs, holding in each hand
a huge scorpion
figure to be a

by the

The

tail.

beus with expanded wings

shows the

latter attribute

Decanus of that Sign.

Above

and in the

his head is a scara-

the sun and the

field

moon, adjuncts marking the astrological character of

man, which therefore must be assigned to the
Loadstone

No.

2.

no legend.

Anubis walking

terminating in a ball

in each

hand a long Egyptian sceptre

No.

3.

Bev.

MIXAHA

make x Michael the angel

the Cabalists

Plasma of bad

moon

in the field the sun and the

whole enclosed in a sunken circle.

four stars

this talis-

class of Abraxoids.

the

between

of the sun.

quality.

Anubis having two heads

being maned on the neck,

is

one a

jackals, the other,

probably equine.

In his four

hands he bears on one side two swords, on the other two blazing
flambeaux.
see the exact

One

of his feet

is

Here we

unmistakeably hoofed.

Anubis described by Apuleius as displaying a face

alternately black as night, and golden as the day.

of the swords refers to the

indicate his office of

first,

The

attribute

the torches to the latter form, and

Psychopompus both in the

infernal

and the

celestial regions.

Bev.

stone

No.

tlEPA-AMBW- YBAIA- KZIK- A

Coptic. 1

Load-

the engraving tolerable.

4.

Abraxas, as usually figured, but here equipped with a

sword, not a scourge, and a round buckler of the Persian form.

No

legend.

No.

5.

Plasma.

Cancer grasping with one claw

Around, in large

letters,

at the lunar crescent.

TIMNITAENEI.

occurs frequently in such formulae, but

its

The word ITA

meaning has not been

explained.

An

address to Anubis, whose phonetic

name Ambo

is

clearly legible.

Plate

DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATES.

EFENNHSE ZCOZIOATPIAN,

PU) MYAA

Rev.

201

Romula

has given birth to Sosipatria, which shows this to have been

an astrological memorial of the nativity of Sosipatria, born

when

moon was

the

the rising of one

eternity

An

in Cancer.

little

imperishable evidence of

bubble upon the surface of the ocean of

which burst some sixteen centuries

Yellow Jasper large oval

other trace.

ago,

and

left

no

the letters well engraved.

See Plate III. 6 for the inscription.

No.

Fantastic Bird, the outline representing an Ibis, in-

6.

geniously composed from a dolphin placed on a rams head, and

Talisman, uniting the influence of Neptune

furnished with legs.

and Mercury within the form of the

made the symbol

a fitting device for a

Calcedony.

trader.

No.

which the Egyptians

bird,

Thoth and the Moon

of

Abraxas brandishing his whip, as

7.

On

evil genii.

his

shield the titles

IH*

if

chasing away the

lAlaX

Neat work.

Green Jasper.
No. 8. The Good Shepherd bearing upon his shoulders the lost
lamb as he seems to the uninitiated eye but on closer in:

spection,

he becomes the double-headed Anubis, having one head

human, the other a

jackals, whilst his girdle

hooked

staff.

is

a long

This figure had without doubt two meanings

obvious, for the vulgar

initiated alone.

or apostle

assumes the form

In his hand

of a serpent rearing aloft its crested head.

It

among

the other mystic and recognisable

one

by the

was perhaps the signet of some chief teacher

and its impression one of the

the Gnostics

tokens serving for mutual recognition mentioned by Epiphanius.

Neatly engraved in a beautiful red sard fashioned to an octagon

form

a shape without a pattern in the class of antique

gems
?

though

so

much

affected in mediaeval art,

posed mystic virtues.

No.

9.

sup-

(Authors Collection.)

human

legs,

field a long legend, of which

this type I

ones

its

Crested Serpent, with erected head, and his coils sup-

ported upon two

Of

on account of

mind the

forming a walking

only the word

its

description of the Zoroastrian

monstrous Egyptian gods

It

is

may have

In the

AB PA is to be made out.

have seen no other example

two-footed serpent of lies.

figure.

design recalls to

Dev

AsJimog, the

not unlikely that certain

served their iconoclastic

:;

DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATES.

202

Persian masters as types for the demons of their

Pan and

just as subsequently the unlucky

devils of the

No.

two

10.

monkish

own mythology

his satyrs

Coarsely cut on loadstone.

creed.

much

Mithraic composition, possessing

birds, ostriches,

became the

having one a

elegance

the other a rams, head,

bulls,

stand as guardians of the Sacred Table (Eucharistic), which supports a tripod bearing the consecrated bread, above which, be-

tween two unknown

One

letters, stands

conspicuously the Delphic E.

with the Boethian

of these characters is indeed identical

numeral 1

for 3, the other a small

cube placed upon a larger one.

Above shine the seven planets: under the table reposes the
Mithraic Lion, type of the sun, and likewise representing the
highest grade in that religious hierarchy.

No. 11.

Man

with the head of a

Sard.

lion, standing, a

long staff in

one hand, the other raised with a threatening gesture

a Leonticus, or high Mithraic

E0Y EKATON TOM AXE;

-

by the

if

Male

figure

Moon

molest the wearer of

to

amongst which

may be

found in these invocations.

lion bestriding a corpse

in conjunction

adores the apparition of the deity.

read

In the

a female kneeling

field

many

NTA YXYN

scattered

words often

A Mithraic scene, belonging to

the

wherein an apparent human

rites

The simulation

sacrifice was perpetrated.

by the neophyte was in fact the obvious
being born again by the rite of baptism,

of death

preliminary to his

which likewise formed an essential part

of the Mithraic initiation,

to the great scandal of the Christian Fathers.

rude work.

Rev. IAU)

See Plate

Loadstone

CABACO0 AEHIOYU).

XHI. G.
Or perhaps Jeromes Pater Bromius for how could the Roarer be
better imaged? And if this be ad1

II.

mounted on a

overhead the Sun and

letters,

perhaps the threat expressed

he presume

Plate
1.

evidently

KENTAYP

Green Jasper.

the talisman.

No.

Rev.

to cut the Centaur (Night-mare)

figures gesture, viz.,

hundred pieces

into a

official.

mitted,

it

will complete the

equivalents for

very

Glory be

number

of

the personages enu-

merated in the Cave

(p. 54).

Plate

VM

II

DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATES.

Iao the normal Basilidan invocation

to

notion of Iao, as the solar god, was

common

203

showing how the

to the

two

religions,

the later Egyptian and the Mithraic.

No.

2.

Ibis-headed god holding the caducens, and seated on a

throne (Thoth or Hermes), and sainted by a standing deity with

plnmed head, whose name, Phre (Phoebus), is

him in a vertical line, exactly as the letters

radiated and

written behind

would have stood

This

expressed in hieroglyphics.

if

reason for such a disposition of the letters forming a

many

racters, or

perhaps numerals.

ABAA@ANABAA
this scene belongs
is

In the

Egyptian amulets.

later

Thou

3.

crossed upon the breast

Father

).

by Phre,
The design of

Loadstone

work

a fair intaglio.

the head radiated, and the hands

on each side of the head

many inexplicable symbols in the field.

(a very common one) Osiris but there

It is
is

of the intaglio.

is

a comet

usual to call this type

nothing Egyptian in
It

seems to

me

is

may have been

so strongly insisted

much

Such

the figure of the Old Man, whose worship

on in the

The

against the Templars.

cyphers,

its

rather a

mediaeval (Arabic or Jewish) representation of Jehovah.

indeed

in so

mystic cha-

purely to the primitive Egyptian religion, but

Terminal figure

attitude nor in the

name

the

Bev. the address uttered

art our

here adopted by Gnosticism.

No.

field certain

is

articles of accusation

reverse

is

brought

covered with flowery

in the taste of Arabic calligraphy, and bearing not

the least analogy to the ornamentation, or to the magical devices

in use under the

No.

4.

down from one

He

Lower Empire.

A god standing,

Green Jasper.

a nude figure, with the mantle hanging

shoulder, and bearing the bay-branch of Apollo.

holds forth his hand in a caressing attitude towards a large

fowl, with vulture-like beak,

crowned with the modius of Serapis,

and bearing the caduceus of Thoth.

usual Ibis,

may be

OMBO-RYN.

This bird, clearly not the

intended for the Phoenix. 1

The

last

In the

(Apollos own),

and may possibly

This intaglio

very deeply but rudely cut in Schist.

is

field,

word in Hebrew means Raven

1
This peculiar bird of the Sun,
which only made its appearance at
Heliopolis, would be appropriately in-

refer to the bird here depicted.

troduced in company with Phoebus,

whom the deity here seems in-

for

tended.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATES.

204

No.

Two

5.

serpents forming a cartouche, exactly like that

placed by the Hindoos above the head of Ganesa, god of wisdom,

Name.

to contain the Ineffable

The one here given

incloses

sundry symbols, regular masons marks, and others seemingly

(See PI. XIII. F. G.)

hieroglyphic numerals.
set in

No.
so

6.

design copied from the Altar of Lugdunum, that

common type

in a

of the brass coins of Tiberius, but here modified

word Tetragrammaton

Hebrew characters making up the name J ehovah,

An

potent against all demons.

of

On

J ewish sense to represent the Ark of the Covenant.

front is placed, mis-spelt, the holy

four

Sard originally

an iron ring.

its

that spell so

important inscription, on account

name

taking the place of the

the

or the

Iao, usually

employed

for this

purpose, and thus showing that the one passed as equivalent for
Sard, the engraving in the latest and most debased

the other.

Eoman

style

the legend

No.

7.

with his

the only one of the class

is

in

which

emblem of eternity, encircles the

Hindoo work it forms the frame inclosing

Name

M1XAHA - MSCAHA -

Rev.

names of angels are of the same date

for this class

it,

me

in his mouth, the

design, exactly as in

8.

to

Harpocrates seated upon an erect scarabeus: a serpent

tail

the Ineffable

No.

known

written in the Latin character.

as the intaglio,

IAU).

These

an early one

well and deeply cut in a Black Jasper.

Bust of Serapis, singular only from the legend around

<I>YAACC AIA, Take

care of Jupiter,

i.e.

protect the

benign influence of that planet against any baneful interference

on the part of a malign

and protecting

star.

star appears

Tutela

That Jupiter was especially a good

from Horaces

Te Jovis impio
Satumo refulgens

Eripuit, celerique Fato

Tardavit alas.

And again where Persius

declares,

Saturnumque gravem nostro Jove fregimus una.

For in
god

this later

mythology Serapis was the

hence his power to defend Jupiter,

sole

and almighty

now reduced

planetary genius, against any malignant influence.

to a

mere

Plate

III

/O

A
0N

DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATES.

must have been out of

It

their

205

accustomed hatred for the

notions of the Greeks that the Talmudists, with characteristic

perverseness,

made Saturn

a good genius, and the legislator of

nation, whilst Jupiter, malignant

their

and

they ap-

restless,

Bloodstone

pointed for patron of the Christians (p. 53).

rude

work.

Plate
No.

1.

Mummy-like

huge serpent

encompassed within the

figure

(p. 149).

by

sarcophagi lately discovered in the

In the

field several letters,

apparently

word SNITIA purposely dislocated. Bev. AW - INATIT*

which the usual ITA will be detected; and on the bevelled

the
in

coils of a

exactly as those in the leaden scrolls figured

Matter, deposited in the

Vigna Massini

III.

edge the same combination of letters that

is

seen round the

Perhaps a ticket given to the neophyte on his

figure.

initiation,

or else a charm to secure his peace in the grave, and representing

the corpse as wrapped in the protecting embrace of the Agatho-

daemon, the sacred serpent.

Loadstone.

The Chnuphis, lion-headed and maned Serpent, his head

crowned with twelve rays, allusive to the number of the months,
No.

2.

he being a solar emblem.

He rises

erect from a cylindrical cista,

Here we have the sigil the Serpent with

head radiated, prescribed by King Nechepsos (p. 74) to be enor perhaps low altar.

graved on a green Jasper, and worn about the neck to protect

against all diseases of the chest.

the virtue of the stone

itself,

Galen ascribes the

having found

it

effect to

equally efficacious

worn without the engraving. The astronomer Hephmstion

Chnumis is a star in the breast of Leo, and
Around the sertherefore his sigil is good for the human chest.

if so

also notices that

pent runs the explanatory legend

I,

am the good

AN OX - AN OX - XN OYM 1C
NAYTITA (ending as usual in

Bev.

genius.

!TA), the remains of a long inscription, unfortunately ground

away
fire

in order to flatten the

back of the stone, splintered by the

that has entirely calcined the material

as the black hair-lines traversing

bold, though

somewhat rude.

its

originally a J asper,

surface

indicate.

(Authors Collection.)

Work

DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATES.

206

No.

Mars standing leaning on

3.

wards

hand on

(in sign of amity), the other

down-

his spear, the point

his shield.

In the

perhaps of some un-

field various indefinite signs, characters

Around runs the explanatory legend APHZ

TON nONON, Mars hath cut
down the pain in the liver 2 showing this stone to have been
designed for a charm against liver complaints
an unique
example of the kind. Rev
Various signs and letters, making

known

language.

ETEMEN TOY

H RATOS!
;

out no definite word, in which the sacred E

.

The

rude in the extreme,

intaglio,

very coarse
No.

4.

often repeated.

size,

and metallic in

META TO ONOMA TOY MON EOY,

bably intended for In the name of the sole god. 3

iv., PI. lvii.

TO ONOMA TOY CAPAniC,

the

in white letters,

In

name

of

worker, perforated for suspension.

4)

META

of Serapis,

which go through the black ground

the ingenious production

of a square

some Alexandrian

But

pro-

Similar in

nature to that figured by Caylus (Rec.

paste,

by a

lustre.

disk of Green Jasper, which bears, neatly engraved,

spell-

the

Loadstone, large

tool.

is

shallow, and done

is

glass-

this jasper intaglio

was

doubtless intended for stamping cakes or such like offerings

or to render whatever

To

Demons.
signet, so

No.

sealed

it

up proof against the

assaults of

the latter object served the application of Solomons

famous in Eastern legends.

Abraxas brandishing a mace in a most pugnacious

5.

attitude, allusive to his title of Beater of the Giants,

this

new theosophy had been metamorphosed

Matter, and the angels of the Demiurgus.

nOefievos t a oirXa, as the

went

military term

Greek

our grounding

arms.
2 Caylus gives one bearing a long
string of names, followed by tt avaare
fj.oi

for

t ov ttovov
me from

female)
3

OT

MON

(iv.

tt]v

is

PL

debver
wearer (a

<pcpovair]v ,

pain

the

168).

put for
in the second line

twice.

MONOY,
doing

the

duty

Serapis, in the invocations to

him, arrogates to himself the title of

the one sole god, in which the in-

who

in

into the agents of

The primal source

of

fluence of Alexandrian Judaism

is unmistakeably to be recognised.
4
I have lately met with a bronze
disk which by reason of its large diameter and tenuity could only have
been used for impressing some very
yielding substance, such as dough.

It presents engraved in slight intaglio

the heads of Philip, his empress, and

and the legend TJN MTCTUJN

Belonging to the initiated in the town of Brise.
son,

BPICEWN,

DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATES.

these notions is incidentally pointed ont
bears, the mace,

unknown

207

by the weapon the god

Greeks and Romans, but per-

to the

petually seen in the hands of Assyrian warriors. 1

the Persian kings life-guard were styled

being a metal ball on the end of a

Bev

staff.

Hence,

rjXotfropoi,
.

later,

their

mace

The Tri-formed

goddess, a modification of the Hindoo Bhavani, brandishing in

her several hands the proper attributes of the

torches,

latter, serpents,

and swords, to scare away the demons combated by her

consort Abraxas.

Since the triple Hecate in one of her characters

was the Moon,

Tercet, lustrat,

Ima, superna,

we

agit, Proserpina,

Luna, Diana,

feras, sceptro, fulgore, sagittis

perceive a sufficient reason for her union here with Abraxas

the Sun-god.

Flat bronze disk, the design chiselled out in a

rough yet spirited

forated

manner of a coin die. PerThe most singular monument that has

style, after the

for suspension.

come under my notice in this series.

No. 6. Legend on the rev. of fig. 5,
No.

7.

The Chnuphis

PI.

I.

Serpent, with seven rays in his crown

The triple

(the seven days of the week), standing erect.

Bev

S S S and

Chnuphis amulet

bar, the invariable reverse to the

against the pleurisy (p. 176)

at the side

XNOVSVBIG.

Neatly

cut in a fine opalescent calcedony, very convex on both sides.

(Authors Collection.)

No.

8.

Harpocrates seated in the lotus on the deck of the

sacred boat (baris), the stem and stern of which terminate in

the heads of a vulture and a bull, floating in

the sun and

moon;

in the exergue

AW.

mid air overhead

As the Egyptians
;

called the Sun, before he attains his full power, Horus, there

good reason for giving the

tative.

The same

title

is

Iao to this his infant represen-

idea seems here expressed as in the

Hindoo

Naryan, he that floateth on the waters (hence the Nereids),

always pictured as a child with his toe in his mouth, floating in
his leaf-shaped boat

on the tranquil bosom of the deep.

Especially wielded by their San-

don, the original of the

Greek Heracles,

Naryan

with his peculiar weapon, which in

is often a real metal mace.

archaic art

DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATES.

208

always painted

is

now

blue

Egyptians gave the

title

since Heliodorus notices that the

of Horus occasionally to the Nile (the

analogy between the two infant deities becomes

blue water), the

the more apparent.

This intaglio formed the face of a ring cut

out entirely in a hard green jasper mottled with yellow, bought

by me
No.

in

Rome

9.

The Cynocephalus, with

(1849).
the lunar disk on his head,

standing, in the act of adoration, before a column engraved with

pillars of

see one of the

Hermes, on which that god had engraved

all

know-

This beast was sacred to him, for the genuine species

ledge.

had an
(p.

Here we

and supporting a triangle. 1

letters,

liking for pen and ink,

instinctive

44).

The

pillars of

insignia, but they

Hermes

says

Horapollo

survive in the Masonic

still

have been Judaized into Solomons Jachin

and Boaz (Herz).

No.

same

Bev

10.

The Cynocephalus crowned

as

and in the

before,

attitude, adoring the first appearance of the

The legend

HNAMEPU),

new moon.

which usually accompanies

Yellow

type, but has not been interpreted.

this

(Authors

jasper.

Collection.)

No. 11. The Gnostic Pleroma, or

iEons ; expressed by the outline of a

perhaps serpent, and
the

name only

formed like

filled

of Iao

combination

man

of

holding 2 a

the

all

scroll, or

in with innumerable letters, in which

may be

The

recognized.

three bent spikes or nails;

left

hand

is

unmistakeably the same

symbol that Belus often holds in his extended hand on the

Babylonian cylinders, afterwards

discovered

Cabalists in the points of the letter Shin,

by the

Jewish

and by the mediaeval

mystics in the Three Nails of the Cross.

Perhaps, after

all,

by Belus expressed no more than a notion of

and unchangeableness, as in the Hebrew simile, like

these nails held

fixedness

ABAAOANABAA,

to

The symbol of Deus Lunus.

The most complete example of
this type that I know of is engraved
by Caylns (vi., pi. 22). The figure,
the

Seir-Anpin of the Kabala, is

in front face

and in the exergue

is

leaving no doubt as

the Power thus personified.

The

reverse of the stone, a white sapphire

much

Lion
which however Caylus thinks

calcined, is the Mithraic

passant,

of an earlier date.

Pkte IV

DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATES.

a nail in a sure place, and therefore given
in the same sense

209

by Horace

to

Fate

Te semper

anteit sseva Necessitas

Clavas trabales et cnneos

manu

Gestans ahena.

This intaglio
a

very faintly engraved by a

is

fine

wheel (Herz

cast).

Plate IY.
1

The

East, or Oriens, personified

mounted on a camel preceded by a

according to the Magian religion
Placat

as

by

Sol with radiated head,

horse, his peculiar sacrifice,

Ovid says

equo Persis radiis Hyperiona cinctum,

Under the

and followed by a cock, his attribute in Greece.

camel a burning

altar.

This subject

is not, strictly

speaking,

Fair work.

Gnostic, but rather connected with the Mithraica.

Calcedony.
2.

Lion passant, beneath a flying scarabeus, in the

Punic characters reading Lanso a

,

title

field

above

accompanying the same

type on a stone in the Paris Cabinet.

An

early Phoenician

amulet, displaying the proper vehicle of Belus the Sun-god, and

therefore cognate in idea to the preceding.
forated through the axis.
3.

scarabeoid per-

Calcedony streaked with red.

upon a

Ibis emerging from a nautilus-shell, and pouncing

serpent

around the design

is

bent an aspergillum or holy -water

Amulet connected with the worship of

sprinkle.

Isis.

Fine

Sard.
4.

Persian andro-sphinx, with

scorpions tail
this class.

a Magian genius.

Scarabeoid.

Or pyrsea, with the sacred fire.

Some such Persian demon St. John
must have had in view in his descrip2

smoke

Better

or locusts legs,

work than

is

and

usual in

Sard.

tion of the locusts

birds

coming out of the

of the bottomless pit.

(Apoc.
Their shapes were like unto
ix. 7.)

prepared unto battle; their

were the faces of men, the
sound of their wings as the sound of
chariots of many horses, and they had
tails like unto scorpions, and
they
had stings in their tails. His Four
horses

faces

DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATES.

210

Bacchic Yase

5.

ing,

on

the belly formed out of three masks spring-

The handle tipping

out of the base.

stalks,

This

a distinct cross.

the lid forms

a vessel belonging to the Bacchic

is

mysteries, and of the same date as the earlier Gnostic stones.

Red

(Authors Collection.)

Jasper.

A Mobed

6.

Magian

or

afterwards adopted
this piece,

7.

Gryllus

An

fig,

stood,

on which account

Cone.

or his ear,

com-

Calcedony.
a helmet, formed

and having

for neck-

amulet which combines for the protec-

tion of the wearer the attributes of

field various cyphers, or

Head covered with

a Bearded

out of two doves pecking at a

piece a wolfs head.

and other emblems

earlier date, is introduced for

lunar crescent.

field the

fire

by the Eastern Gnosis

though of much

In the

parison.

which

priest worshipping at an altar

supports a candelabrum, with the sacred

detached

Venus and Mars.

letters,

not

now

In the

to be under-

but which confirm the supposition that the device was

intended as a charm, not as a mere jeu desprit.

Sard (formerly

in the Authors Collection).

Female with radiated crown, seated on a throne, and hold-

8.

ing out a

is

often seen on these gems.

Work

which,

extremely

Green Jasper.

rude.
9.

KVNHXVS,

In front the legend

scroll.

variously spelt,

Fantastic Bird, where the motive

crowned by a

tiara

which makes the

a Persian kings head

is

ending in a birds

in the field a serpent

Apparently a Mithraic amulet.

birds tail.

Antique Paste.
10.

The double plume

especial ornament of
PI.

ii.

332, where

in our example,
of wheat.

is

it

enclosing the

Isis.

rests

upon wheat

somewhat

solar disk, the

Raspe figures

The

ears.

indefinite,

but

more

same device,

the

object below

may mean two

it,

stalks

Cut on the base of a scarabeus beautifully worked

in the finest sard, on the back engraved with a palm-branch and

caduceus.

Greco-Egyptian work, probably the signet of some

princess belonging to the

Ptolemaic

Beasts are identical with the Hindoo

Velians, or agents of the Divine will
(p.

165)

subsequently each

is

as-

line.

This

gem

is

not

signed to an evangelist.
1

Such as Yarahran wears on his

coins.

Pl&ie

DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATES.

figured here for any connection

had with Gnostic

it

ideas, hut

its

displaying a union of Egyptian and Greek symbolism,

also

on account of the extreme rarity of Egyptian intagli in

from

and

211

fine or

hard stones.
Elephant crawling out of a snail shell

in the field

C. F.

Such combinations, introducing the elephant, have been

inter-

11.

preted as charms against the disease taking

its

name from

Probably here nothing more than a joke

animal.

is

that

intended,

the Greek oxnpa % cnrpoaboKrjTov, in thus uniting the mightiest

with the most fragile of created things; a mode of raising a

Fine work in a beautiful

laugh, so frequent with Aristophanes.

Sard.

(Authors Collection.)

Plate Y.
1.

Yenus standing under a canopy supported on twisted

columns, arranging her hair before a mirror held up by a Cupid

two others hover, bearing up a wreath, above her head.

field

Yenus here stands

or

Achamoth

ventional

upon the

the

APlHPI<f>,

and as such

is

the undoubted source of our con-

representation of Truth. 2
lotus,

over that the

Bev

Harpocrates

seated

springing from a double lamp, formed of two

name

Above
In the

lao.

sacred animals, the scarab,

of as

In the

Arioriph.

for the personification of the Gnostic Sophia

phalli united at the base.

emblems

manifestation of

many

threes,

head his

asp,

ibis,

deities,

mythology, arranged by

his

title

Abraxas, and

seven planets.

field the

The

goat, crocodile, vulture,

the principal in

the Egyptian

form a frame to the design.

Neatly engraved on a large bright Loadstone.

2.

Fantastic Bird, in which the

evidently Platos portrait

mask forming the breast is

The birds head

in the field a lion.

1
It was under this form that the
Supreme Tetrad brought down Truth

same in purport as this Manifestation

His next a nude Venus,

of Arioriph.

from heaven to display her beauty to

Marcus, as he describes in his Revela-

in the actual attitude of ours, reads

tion (see p. 39).

the field C ANKTA, probably the owners

Mont. PI.

clxi.

Venus unveiling

herself has for reverse APurPI

OPAC IC

the vision of Arori, evidently

the

APPUJPi<f>

name.
3

IACIC

for

$ACIC, and

in

Both are taken from Capello.

Thoth, Isis, Mendes

Viz., Phre,

Bebys, Neith.

p 2

DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATES.

212

and neck were composed by another mask now

caduceus of Thoth

A tO

Ibis

by the

lost

crowned and bearing the

in the field the sun, with scattered letters

making up the word

I

Rev

of the stone.

fracture

ABPACAE. On

a tablet below

inscribed

is

a singular instance of the application of these

titles to

such an emblem. For they properly belong to the solar divinity,

whereas the Ibis

This

genius.

the acknowledged attribute of the lunar

is

the sole instance in

is

my

knowledge of a Gryllus

bearing the indubitable stamp of Gnosticism

done in a bold coarse

The
to

stone too

is

style, are certainly

for both its sides,

from the same hand.

Obsidian, a rarely used material, and peculiar

Egypt.
3.

The

signet of one T. Acilius Aglaus, a freedman of the

noble family Acilia, and by birth a Greek, as his proper name

declares.

who

He was

evidently a Christian of the primitive times,

took for his device the Fish (the Dag, or Messiah of the

Talmudists), as recommended by Clemens Alexandrinus.

Neatly

engraved in a Nicolo.
4.

Silenus-mask, conjoined with a vultures head

and early Gryllus

5.

Abraxas advancing

and an
ligible

to the combat,

elliptical shield inscribed

word.

Rev

!A60

with

alone.

an unique
Jasper.

armed with a scourge

letters

Eed

originally set in an iron ring.

forming no intel-

spirited

engraving,

on

green Jasper.
6.

An

Isiac

a Pegasus.

is

7.

Yase

twined asps are the handles

on

its

belly

Black Jasper.

Synibolum in

its

primary sense

understood by the initiated.

being a ticket only to be

The device

is

a combination of

letters and symbols including a crescent and the figure 8 (the

Sard of good quality.
latter an astrological mark).
8.

Locust, 1 or rather a Mole-cricket (grillo), walking erect,

Perhaps a medical

sigil

accord-

employed in medicine

ing to the Doctrine of Signatures,

that similia similibus cnrantur, i.e.,

fections of the genitals.

the appearance of an object indicates

the malady for which Nature has designed it for a remedy, the locust was

notion in Plinys time.

suffitu

for certain af-

Locustarum

stranguriae juvantur,

was a

singular

amulet illustrating this is figured by

Caylus (Rec. vi. pi. 41) a locust of the

PkteVI

DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATES.

213

and bearing on his shoulder a huge cornucopia, whence issue a

Capricorn and a large bee.
In his paw are two wheat-ears.
This insect, from
spectre-like habits

resemblance to a skeleton (larva), and

its

and habitation, was accounted a powerful charm

The

against the evil eye.

introduction of Capricorn shows the

now far beyond

Brown Sard (Authors

design to have conveyed an astrological sense,

our detection.

Excellent

Eoman work.

Collection).
9.

The Chnuphis Serpent

raising himself aloft.

Over, and

corresponding to the rays of his crown, are the Seven Yowels,

the elements of the Word.
bar,

and the name

Bev

The

XNOYBIC. A

green plasma of the finest quality

S S S and

usual triple

beautiful intaglio

on a pale-

extremely convex.

Plate YI.
1.

Old Man, a terminal figure

Osiris, or the

at the foot

the celestial globe and Masonic pentagon, or Solomons Seal

by symbols and

the field occupied

The whole design

is

seemingly Hebrew.

letters

mediaeval, and could hardly have been a

production of even the lowest times of the Empire.

This

is

one

of the pieces most evidently bespeaking a Rosicrucian origin.

Deeply cut in a coarse-grained Green Jasper.

2.

Eortuna standing between two youths bearing palms; in

the field above another palm- branch, and

the dispersed letters

making up the word FECI. This legend announces the attainment of some desired end, an idea also conveyed by the palmbranches

and perhaps

is

used here in a mystic sense to denote

the completion of the trials required previous to admission into

some secret corporation.

Calcedony.

natural size cut in agate, engraved on

cylindrical, cambered, annulated

the base with the explanatory address

an analogy

to its influence.

its virtue

AKPI2 EXE nOIP TI2IKPATOT2.

Locusta
To

serva

penem

Tisicratis.

explain the selection of this in-

such a purpose, it must be

mentioned that the Greeks saw in its

sect for

to the phallus

body
and hence

as a fascinum, as its figure

implied what the latter form actually
represented.

Hence

Ecclesiastes si-

mile the grasshopper shall be a burden, alluding to the loss of virile power

consequent on old age.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATES.

214

Athor, her head crowned with a disk between two cows

3.

horns

a terminal figure corresponding to the Osiris already-

same peculiar

described, and engraved in the

AXYTHMSHTNYETYNA

the

style.

Legend

part of which seems to

first

envelope the name Achamoth Wisdom.

,

coarse-grained Green

Jasper.

Terminal

4.

figure, or a

Latin Cross topped by a

human

head.

This cross seems to he the Egyptian Tau, 1 that most ancient

symbol of the generative power, and therefore transferred into

the Bacchic mysteries.

Such a Tau

found on the wall of a

is

house at Pompeii in juxtaposition with the phallus, both sym-

embodying the same idea. At the base NIXAPO IIAHC.

The same legend occurs at the foot of a cross-shaped trophy,
above which is the Christian X/ on a stone in the French
Around the design runs a long legend,
Collection, No. 2222.
bols

many vowels

consisting of

intermixed with a few consonants,

evidently designed to shroud in mystery from profane eyes some

Holy Name therein concealed.

not in their proper order.

Rev

This

is

The Seven Vowels, though

most beautifully cut on a

fine

double- convex Calcedony elegantly mounted in an Oriental gold

whence hangs a pearl

frame,

intended for a pendant. 3

Sol in his quadriga above,

5.

versing the star-spangled heavens

Luna
:

in her higa below, tra-

as Manilius sings

Quadrijugis et Phoebus equis et Delia bigis.

Rev. 1AW CABAtd ABPACAZ O ION F1AP ACTAGlory he to Iao, the Holy Name, he that is by the
<f>HN
4
In the last name we recognise Astaphai the
side of Astaphe.
:

In the demolition of the Sera-

peum

this cross

was discovered cut

upon the stones of the adytum, placed

3 The
same
NEIXAPOI1AHC

reverse of a

but written
IWA, occupies the

legend,
.

gem

(feuerstein) figured

there,

said

those skilled

in

hiero-

glyphics, as the symbol of eternal life

a discovery affording great matter of
triumph to Sozomen, who takes for
granted it had been hallowed there in
a spirit of prophecy.
2 And again written, with a varia:

tion,

on the Mithraic stone described

in the next page.

in the Gottingische Antiker, Nos. 35 a

and

&,

of

which the obverse

bitably Mithraic

is

indu-

for it represents the

lion-headed, serpent-encircled man, a

torch in one hand, a sword, serpent,

wreath, in the other, soaring aloft from

the back of a lion under

whom

lies

prostrate corpse.
4

Such

is

the classical force of the

Plate VII

DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATES.

Jewish Angel of the planet Mercury

Hindoo system that

star is called

215

and inasmuch as in the

Buddha,

this invocation fur-

additional evidence as to the true source of all these

nishes

This design also supplies an example of the gems

notions.

engraved with the names of the Sun and Moon, prescribed by

the Magi, and ridiculed

by Pliny

Neatly cut in

(xxxvii. 21).

a bloodstone, the antique Heliotropium

a stone in itself of

wondrous magic power, and even capable of making

invisible

its

bearer

quibusdam additis preecantationibus. 2

1
i

Horse-Chimera, presenting no other novelty than the erect

6.

dolphin in front, from whose

horse

is

browsing.

a palm, on which the

tail springs

Both animals being attributes of Neptune,

the talisman was designed to secure his good graces.

Brown

Sard.
7.

.Mounted warrior, transfixing with his spear a prostrate

enemy

stamps.

Rev.

power being

seal to

Power
8.

manner

a design executed in the

G<i>PAriC

to

make

its

The

owner

Seal

of the later Sassanian

of

victorious.

God; the

Sigils

Perhaps the very

be exhibited by the ascending soul to each astral

see p. 127.

Loadstone.

Iao flourishing his scourge

CABAW0.

in the field

!AU5.

Rev

Green Jasper.

Plate YII.
1.

four-winged genius, with radiated head, 3 holding a long

sceptre in each hand, standing

he

may be

Beneath

is

Speculi

modo Solem

deprehenditque defectus subostendens, a property

to which the subject here engraved
accipit

euntem

lions

back

and hence

a tablet containing an unintelligible legend, partially

preposition but probably here it means

contrary to, and then Iao would be
invoked to protect the soul against
that malignant son of Ildabaoth.
1
Pliny especially notices that the
Magi used it in the observation of
solar eclipses

upon a

understood as the chief Decanus of the Sign Leo.

Lunam

corresponds.
2

Of such

spells the legend on our

be a specimen.
3
There is a star on each side,
which seems to define its astrological

reverse

may

The idea of the figure

seems borrowed from the ancient
Assyrian Belus, standing upon his
lion,
or vehan, according to the
character.

Hindoo

doctrine.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATES.

216

In the

defaced.

dispersed, a long formula, in

field,

which may-

ANA0ANABAA EIAAM MIXAAW

be detected the words

[V1IXAHA, showing the light in which the genius here figured

was invoked.

Bev.

kneeling female,

a type proving

i. e.

it

god guiding a

to belong to

already noticed (PI. II.

Of the long formula

and adored by a

lion,

the soul of the owner of the talisman

1),

the Mithraic class, like that

but with the omission of the corpse.

filling

up the

though clearly enough

field,

engraved, no distinct words can be recognised, except

CAB AGO above

XAE MIXAM

in the exergue

Eagle

2.

AAWNE

standing

upon a

seems intended for

it

AW.

A 10

AKPA

Loadstone.

tablet

exemplifying

a design

Plinys notice of the supposed virtues of such a sigil if engraved

upon an emerald,

for

which unattainable gem

was no doubt intended as a

gible legend around

may

empowered the talisman

locusts.

keep

hail-storms and flights of

off

In the astrology of the Hindoos the eagle

vehicle on which rides

i. e.

uninjfcelli-

be the precatio addita which

also
to

this green jasper

The long and

substitute.

Buddha

is

the Vehan ,

or the planet Mercury.

The

introduction of the bird on talismans seems to be connected with

some such
3.

idea.

Two-handled vase, containing two wheat-ears with two

Poppy-

poppy-heads, and pertaining to the mysteries of Ceres.

heads ever accompany the proper

Romans used the seed

4.

beneath,

Eternal Sun
that jHorus

ABPACAZ.

Or

Sard.

Horus

The

is clearly

Over his head

seated on the lotus

CMC

IAAM, The

an address explained by Macrobiuss statement,

at a particular period of

Green Jasper.

double-headed Capricorn with an owls body, standing

NIXAPW

nAHC

divided

concludes

new

AAWNAI.
2

caraways.

an Oriental one.
Bev.

was but a name of the Sun

his course.

we do

Iao flourishing his whip, and holding a bow, an unusual

on the bevelled edge of the stone

5.

the goddess, for the

gifts of

in their cakes as

attribute for this god, but still

IAW

inscription within the tablet

PIME

and the legend

itself

to

with

EPOEMINAwords

me.

Hence Virgils vescum papaver.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATES.

upon and holding
doctrine laid

in his fore-foot a rudder

down by Manilius

217

in allusion to the

that the star in this Signs

the proper horoscope of mariners and pilots.

is

Or

it

tail

may

typify the fickle temper marking the native under the Sign

generally

as Manilius has it (iv. 256)

Quin et mobilitas rerum mutataque ssepe

Mens

natat.

This Sign likewise presided over

all

the space within tide-mark,

the alternate domain of sea and land

a dominion expressed

the half-terrestrial, half-marine composition of the figure.

region peculiarly under him was the west of Europe (iv. 791)

Tu

by

The
:

Capricorne regis quidquid sub sole cadenti

Est positum.

Hence Horace

him

styles

Tyrannus
Hesperise Capricornus undse.

The

owls

body

is

given him here, perhaps, as the attribute

of Pallas, the designer of that prototype of navigation, the Argo.

(From a cast in the Impronte Gemmarie.)

6. The Chnuphis Serpent.
Bev. The Seven Yowels in a
novel arrangement, viz. IH EA HI
XNOYMIC. Eudely

but

Calcedony.

7.

Another Eagle

No. 2

an amulet belonging to the same class as

a long formula on both sides of the stone, which, however,

does not produce any definite words, except that perhaps on the
reverse the

name TATI

for

Thoth may be intended. 2

Green

Jasper.
8.

The Modius,

or Corn-measure, out of

wheat-stalks, and on

which

rests the

The

arithmeticians and legislators.

which spring three

Balance
Chelae,

the horoscope of
Scorpios

which hold the Balance in the Zodiac, says Manilius

(iv.

claws,

204)

Mensurse tribuunt usus et pondera rerum.

T and

(t)

MAN

have been omitted by

|

the careless talisman-maker.

2 The reading seems to be

AOC IAM

Virtue.

TATI.

Tat

is

Sanscrit for

DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATES.

218

This gem, consequently,

or agaronomus.

may have been

the seal of some edile

Sard.

Plate VIII.
1

The Mithraic Lion, passant

in the field

two

The

stars.

reverse presents the most complete assemblage of Gnostic symbols

anywhere

to

many

these,

be found united upon the same monument.

Of

are regular Masons Marks, as will be observed on

referring to those given in PI. XI. 5

characters as occur in the

modifications

Thugga

others are the same

Inscription, and, like those,

alphabet. 1

seemingly of the Egyptian Demotic

These symbols are very carefully engraved

rude and barbarous intaglio.

not so the lion, a

Sard, the actual size.

Father Nilus reclined, and holding up the peculiar double

2.

lamp already noticed, supporting the

lotus of

which corroborates Heliodoruss statement

of this gods

name

He

to the river.

1)

further notices that the

numerical value of the letters in the name

sum

Horus (Plate V.

as to the application

NE1AOX

makes up

Hence the same

result is deducible from this

calculation as in the case of the

names Abrasax and Mithras.

the

Bev.

of 365.

Horus

seated on the lotus

evidently once

Sun, these
to the
3.

Bev.

titles

the legend imperfect, but

ABPACAZ.

IA10

Now, Horus being the

properly belong to him, though generally applied

compound deity

Green Jasper.

of Basilides.

Anubis walking, in his hands the sceptre and Nile-vase.

A formula, of which only the opening KATA A

decyphered, so faint

and confused are the

the same, judging from

its

letters.

It is

can be

probably

commencement, with Raspes No. 1485

on the reverse of a Serapis-head.

A AAT A>S

A^AYBAAAO
iqAXAMM
@ TNA
2

taJ

1
Some again are so like the CasteMarks still in use, that it is hardly

possible

to

believe

the

coincidence

I have

already
given Bellermanns ingenious (though
untenable) explanation
they
that
purely accidental.

Green J asper.

are the sacred divining-lots

figures

formed by the accidental juxtaposition

and balls.
Seemingly enshrouding the
spell, Subdue Laura Macaria.
of little sticks
2

love-

Plate VIII
/

Plate IX
/

DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATES.

The

4.

four- winged astral genius

219

as before, but supporting

head the crossed sticks commonly seen placed on the

Magian fire-altar. 2 He stands on a line, under which is a rod

upon

his

having^e projecting branches lopped off close. Rev. BAI NXIO,

a Prize, making it appear that this was the badge of some
Loadstone.

adept.

5.

1AU)

0ABPSHA,

by an invocation

line of neatly cut symbols, followed

(sic)

3
tect Sabinia Quinta, the wearer of this talisman.

Goddess standing, and leaning on a

6.

to

seemingly the angel Gabriel, to pro-

Proserpine, 4 who, under the singular

title of

Loadstone.

flambeau

tall

possibly

Abracura appears as
,

the consort of Dispater (Serapis) in the fresco of Yibias tomb

Hence the connexion

(p. 37).

of the subject with the prayer to

NIKA O CAPAfllC TON

0 Serapis! An in-

Serapis on the other side, viz.

Baffle envy (the evil-eye),

<S>ONON,

and

scription expressly declaring the object of this talisman,

illustrating the true sense of

tongue (see

Evil-Eye/

p. 113).

Loadstone.

Virgo seated upon the conjoined bodies of Taurus and Capri-

7.

corn

many others couched in an unknown

a Trine

being the nativity of the owner, and expressive

of his love for justice

Hence

Astraea.
Justus

Pesc.

for the Virgin, Erigone, is the

Niger,

in allusion to the

same as

surname of

placed on his coinage the device of a terrestrial globe

with these signs for supporters.

Ant. Paste.

Plate IX.
1.

An

oblong cube of Steatite, having

rudely engraved with types belonging

andrian Gnosis.

First face

Second face

Perhaps the Phoenician Taaut.

Or else the Greek X, in the sense
of the Chrisma.
1

Whenever the owners names

com-

were amongst the ladies of those times

especial

patronesses of everything

coming from Egypt.

4

are

on these talismans,

almost always are feminine, a

proof how popular these mystic notions

they

aloft in the attitude of

the Agathodsemon serpent standing on his

to be discovered

four faces very

the purely Alex-

Anubis holding some indistinct

object in one hand, the other raised

mand.

its

to

is

In Raspes gem 1497, Proserpine

similarly figured, but

armed

also

with a sword, standing at the side of

Serapis on his throne.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATES.

220

Third face

tail.

face

Horus seated on the

name IAU)

the sacred

lotus-flower.

This

in large letters.

Fourth
last

is

peculiarly instructive, thus placed in intimate connexion with

the deities of the ancient creed, and standing for the fourth and

unrepresented god

wear

forated for

This cube

the greatest of the whole.

Found

as a periapt.

Bonn

at

is

per-

in 1853, another

instance of the wide dissemination of these notions.

2.

Athor seated with her legs extended and raised

(a posture

adopted in the original figure to display as distinctly as possible

In one hand she

the androgynous nature of this divinity).

grasps a lion, in the other a serpent, and rests upon a base sup-

ported by four diminutive

human

figures in various attitudes

rough imitation of the bas-relief adorning the base of the actual

Bev

idol.

Belus

standing upon his lion passant; the type

already and frequently noticed.

found

and

at Jerusalem,

is

This sard

is

said to

have been

most singular as the only monument

of the kind of so late a date, presenting so purely a Babylonian

type as this representation of Athor

taglio is

for the

very peculiar, not that of primitive

the lowest decline

sanian style.

It

neither

is it

may indeed be

taking into account

its

art,

work

in the bold, though

mediaeval

of the in-

but that marking

certainly

heavy Sas-

Yon Hammer,

reputed provenance would have ascribed

,

it

without hesitation to the Templars, and have deduced curious

mysteries from the attitude of the goddess (Pierotti).
3.

Horus seated on the lotus-flower in

his

wonted

attitude,

but

here equipped with the unusual attribute of a whip, and his head

surrounded with rays, showing his identity in the present case

with

Sol.

In the exergue a legend consisting of several lines in

microscopic, elegant characters, but seemingly containing a for-

mula
than

differing
is

from any yet noticed.

considerably from wear.

4.

The execution

is far

better

customary in these works, but the intaglio has suffered

Loadstone.

Capricorn conjoined with Scorpio, and carrying on his

shoulder a legionary standard.

bination seems to

The reason

for this

unique com-

lie in

the fact that the former sign was the

distinctive badge of the

Second Augustan Legion, whilst the

latter

was the

tutela

of Mars, as Manilius declares,

pugnax Mavorti Scorpius

hseret.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATES.

The standard

meaning

also so conspicuously introduced fixes the

and points

of the device,
this legion,

221

who

it

out for the signet of some officer in

thus places himself under the patronage at once

of the tutelary sign, and of the god of war.

bered that the standards were the

must he remem-

It

deities of the army,

and were,

a march, deposited in the sacellum of the camp,

when

not on

where

sacrifice

was regularly

Brown

offered before them.

Sard.

(Authors Collection.)
5.

Large Dog passant; in the

other indistinct emblems.

This

field

is

highly reverenced by the Parsees

so

a Raven, Serpent, and

apparently the Mithraic Dog,

(p.

60),

an explanation

borne out by the presence of the Raven, so frequent in the

Opaque white Calcedony.

The abbreviation <i>YA
Abraxas accoutred as usual. Bev
<t(7 , Guard me, an invocation to be found expanded to

Mithraic monuments.
6.

for

a greater length in other instances (PI.

II. 8).

Plasma

extremely

minute, evidently intended for a ladys ring.

7.

The Elephant-Chimera

strikingly defined.

influence of

varying in

in

Hermes over the composition.

its

Silenus-mask

its

meaning must

virtue universally acknow-

It is generally explained as a

charm against the disease

(Indian in origin), the elephantiasis, though this explanation

Orpheus indeed promises

purely a conjecture.

is

This type, never

design, occurs so frequently, that its

have been obvious at the time, and

ledged.

which the

caduceus held in his trunk declares the

is

to teach

how the pest to tame

That from the elephant derives its name

but the verses containing the recipe are not extant

the tenor of

the rest, however, shows that the remedy lay in the virtue of

some

specific stone.

The

elephants head

is

a frequent device on

the Greco-Bactrian coins, as well as on the Sassanian seals.

Hindoo god Ganesa

is

The

imaged elephant-headed, and our amulets

may have reference to some corresponding power in the later

Ganesa as the god of wisdom and the
Roman syncreticism.
1

1
Raspe gives (No. 8057) Cybele
holding a banner, seated upon an
elephant similarly carrying a cadu-

ceus,

with a lion couchant for her

foot-stool.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATES.

222

sciences, is thus identical

with the Occidental Hermes

hence the

appropriateness of his peculiar attribute, the caduceus here so

Red

markedly introduced.

(Authors Collection.)

Jasper.

Plate X.
1.

Anubis standing, holding in one hand a

cross, in the other his holy- water

stands a

mummy-like

tresses,

or perhaps snakes

object,
;

staff

bucket or Situla

tipped with a
:

behind him

whose head seems made up of erect

which appear more

distinctly

on

Raspes stone (PI. VII. 32), where this identical figure shows a

head made up of

She

five erect asps.

each hand a small baboon

Anubis exactly similar

she

is also

is

there seated holding on

attended by two figures of

to ours, a proof that the

couched in both the designs.

But Raspes gem

same mystery

is

possesses the sin-

gular addition of a Punic legend above the head of the goddess.

Ballaji,

one of the avatars of Vishnu, wears a crown made up of

In our stone, under the figure

seven erect asps.

is

an open hand,

displaying distinctly five fingers besides the thumb, allusive to

the sacred number.
tected, for the

Here again the Hindoo idea may be de-

Brahmins consider the open hand

the argha or yoni the expressive

,

Nature

and here

to Isis, in

it is

emblem

table.

The

of the passive

power of

introduced in the same sense as referring

whose procession such a

figure

Next comes the globular Nile-vase, or

low

as equivalent to

lotah , or brass

was carried

rjrpLicov,

(p. 109).

resting

upon a

drinking-cup, often represented in

Hindoo gods, much resembles this in shape, and

may have been its prototype. Lotah and lotus-flower (cup-

the hands of the

shaped) are evidently analogous in derivation.

In the

field,

arranged vertically, as used in hieroglyphic

writing, the formulae

ANA ANABAA

and

CMC IAAM.

talisman of most unusual form, being a slender cylinder,

thickest in the middle, and tapering off towards the ends, one

1
The left hand interpreted as the
emblem of Justice it will be noticed
The
that this hand also is the left.

was clearly nothingmore than the popular one the true

was confined to the initiated.

interpretation

Plate

ASM

<

DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATES.

finished in a boss, as if for tying a string

round.

223

Well engraved.

Plasma.
2.

Legend in Greek

letters,

intermingled with other symbols

exactly corresponding with certain Masons Marks, and certainly

of the same signification in their origin

Rev

A long formula crossing a double

p. 100.
3.

compare Plate XI.

circle,

5.

copied in the text,

Green Jasper.

Serpent-legged Giant 2 defying Jupiter: an Italo-Grecian

intaglio of the best period

merely introduced here to show the

probable origin of the Abraxas figure, although in that figment

of Basilides the signification is entirely changed, that god often

taking

the

title

of

Beater of the Giants.

Burnt Sard.

(Authors Collection.)
4.

A Winged

Genius riding upon and guiding a

lion,

i. e.

the

Sign Leo, for the seven stars surrounding him clearly indicate
the astrological character of the design.

Porphyry much

cor-

roded.
5.

Gorgons Head: below, the legend APHTCil) PWP0IV1A1M I protect Rhoromandares

some Persian or Armenian,

AAPH,
as his

name

attests.

on account of

its

This singular inscription

is

most important,

explaining the cause of the frequency of the

Gorgoneion in personal decorations of every kind, being reputed

the most efficacious of amulets.

Red

Jasper.

(Authors Col-

lection.)
6. Serapis enthroned
by his side the triple-headed monster,
emblem of Time, the Past, Present, and Future (p. 65). Before
him stands Isis, holding aloft the sistrum, in the other hand a
;

bundle of wheat-ears.

This group exactly represents the famous

one at Alexandria, explained by Macrobius as the Earth

re-

Around runs the

invocation H KYPfACICIC ArNH, Pure is our Lady Isis,
where it will be observed her name is written Sisis, so as to read
ceiving the genial influence of the Sun.

It is in fact

a complete spindle,

and may have been used

some magical yarn
:

for twisting

Necte tribus nodis ternos Amarylli colores

Necte Amarylli modo et Veneris die vincula
necto.

2
Such a form was not necessarily
confined to the Titans, for Boreas was
figured with serpents for legs upon

the coffer of Cypselu3.

,;

DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATES.

224

indifferently both ways.

Kvpta

is

the exact translation into

Isi , fem. of Isa,

Greek of the Sanscrit

Lord, and is intentionally

The

employed here as the equivalent of her Egyptian name.

Serpent of Serapis had

its

origin in the

huge Serpent Sesha the

,

In later times Serapis had usurped the place of

Regent of Hell.

the Grecian Esculapius, and the Serapeum was resorted to

who

sick,

by the

obtained his advice in dreams, as beforetimes they had

in the Asclepeion, whither Aristophanes sends Plutus for the

There was good reason

recovery of his sight.

was evidently the

the god of the shades

for this

fittest

patron ex

Finely engraved in a beautiful Sard.

Medicine.

exchange
officio

of

(Authors Col-

lection.)

Two

7.

Cupids in a boat, the one fishing, the other steering.

Published here as an example of that rare

types

for the mast,

the fisherman

is

a white vein, of

The type

amongst those recommended by Clemens

signets of the faithful.

8.

purely Christian

and conspicuous feature in the design.

significant

more

class,

with the yard, making a true Cross, forms a

effect to his

intended Cross.

The Agathodsemon

along at full length.

for the

pretty intaglio in a Sard traversed

which the engraver has taken advantage

of

by

to give

(Authors Collection.)

Serpent, here not erect, but crawling

Bev.

ABPACAZ

a legend most rare in

Calcedony, very

connexion with this type.

brilliant,

perhaps

semi-opal.

Plate XI.
1.

Horns seated on the

lotus-flower,

two heads or seed-vessels

with a formula in
with
2.

in the field IAU).

ill-cut indistinct letters,

ABA0ANABAA.

Beverse covered

apparently beginning

Green Jasper.

Serapis enthroned, seen in front, laying his

attendant the triple-headed monster.

apparently an address to
letters being the

prayer.

initials

In the

field

hand upon

of the

his

PM H C PN

Hermes Psychopompus, the

Here Hermes stands

Yam a, who
car.

from whose stalk spring

last three

words in some well-known

for

Karmala, the servant of

conducts the good into his presence in a self-moving

The choice

of the stone

almost invariably, as in this

Plate XI.

JitzlV CO
Y i O -<

MED

LU

\!l/'

MODERN
/EVA L AND
MASONS MARKS.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATES.

225

instance, selected for the intagli of Serapis, viz. the

or ancient Hsemachates,

may have been

dictated

Red Jasper

by the know-

ledge of the primary signification of the name, viz.

Blood-drinker

Or

(p. 66).

may

this inscription

Sri-joa,

the

be no more

than the owners name, perhaps the very surgeon alluded to by

Martial,
Euterocelarum fertur Podalirius Hermes

followed by the titles of his diploma,

not

now

be made out.

to

Serapis had

for

larpog , the others

by

time taken

this

the place of Esculapius, and often appears with the symbol of

the serpent-entwined club

an appropriate device, in another

who

for the signet of one

sense,

given to

many

doubtless had professionally

their passport to the proper domains of Serapis,

god of the lower world.

(Authors Collection.)

Dove with expanded wings, bearing on

3a.

above

it

below

P,

its

head a cross

T, in monogram, and N. At the bottom,

in smaller letters, IXlQ, perhaps implying the Saviours

MHTHP

whilst the larger capitals probably express

Mother of

marks the

God;

the prominence given to

which

late period of this talisman, dating far

name

ov,

sufficiently

down

in the

Byzantine period, when the worship of the Panagia had superseded every other.

arrangement of the

To

the same taste belong the singular

capitals,

and the form of the signet

itself,

The Dove is amongst the devices recommended to his flock by Clemens. Prom the extreme rarity of
Byzantine engraved gems this intaglio possesses considerable
interest.
(Communicated by J. E. Rolls, Esq:)
an octagonal Sard.

4.

Bronze Medal, or rather

manner.
tion,

Obv

disk,

engraved in the coarsest

-A female figure standing in the attitude of adora-

the object of

ORTVS SALVAT,

which

is

expressed by the inscription

the Rising of the Saviour,

i. e.

of Mithras.

Around runs the name of the person defended by this talisman,

viz. Aurelius Furellius Tatianus.
Rev The so frequent
1

We

charm

can hardly assign this rude

the famous Tatian the

to

Syrian (under

M.

Aurelius), the

first

apostle

of

Teetotalism,

founder of the

being

Hydroparastatse,

the
or

Friends of Water, so called from

DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATES.

226

type of the Sun-Lion passant over a corpse, but the legend

though the

inexplicable,

mences with

A tO,

perhaps imply

plain enough.

AVEKVRMENAKE,

followed by

Hail Iao Kurmenacus

tion of the Solar

god

of equal width.

two

Its

metal with one

It

chisel,

appella-

Figures and

making strokes

between them the design,

and PI. VII. 1 where the

sides divide

which appears united in PL

II.

similarly addressed as Iao, but with different titles.

is

medal doubtless had accompanied the interment of some

vidual initiated into the Mithraic mysteries

most curious
5.

is

com-

which may

Some novel

perhaps Gallic in origin.

letters are all cut into the

deity

are

letters

relic of that faith that has

and

is

come under

This
indi-

certainly the

my

notice.

Masons Marks, inserted for the sake of comparison with

Compare

the analogous symbols seen on our gems.

and PL X.

Those in the

2.

first

PI. VIII. 1

three lines are all to be seen on

the ashlar of the drawing-room (interior), Raglan Castle, an

Elizabethan building
in use amongst

the four last are examples of those

regular masons.

contains an excellent paper,

Marks

existing in

by

The

Archgeologia for

still

1845

Pat. Chalmers, on the Masons

Scotland, illustrated

by a

plate of the nu-

merous examples to be found upon the mediaeval buildings of

Brechin, N. B.

and

also of the

modem ones

signatures in St. Ninians Roll, coming

affixed to the Masons

down

to the year 1814.

Of the former many coincide with those here

volume

for

figured.

The

1844 contains another essay on the same subject by

G. Godwin, illustrated

by

five plates presenting a large collec-

tion of these Marks, copied

from yarious ancient buildings in

England (Gloucester, Tewkesbury,

&c.), France,

and Germany

(Cologne).

The Annales Archeologiques (1844-5) also give a

copious

of such Signes Lapidaires, taken from various

list

Gothic buildings throughout France.

Ouseley (Travels, Pl. 82)

gives several, in which the relationship to the European Gothic

Marks

is

most apparent, found by him on the stones of the old

palace (a

Mahommedan

(Pl. XIII.

I.).

building) at Saaditalat, near Ispahan

interdicting the use of wine

even in the Eucharist, a heresy, it
their

need hardly be added, most especially

obnoxious to the orthodox divines.

XII

PL&te

ttt

STONE.

HONE

TABLET:

BAPHOMETIC

DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATES.

227

The most frequent of all such Marks, that known as Solomons

Seal, is still to the Brahmin replete with mystic allusions in its
Five Points because Brahma and Siva have each jive heads. Its
,

apparent connexion with the Delphic Oracle has been already

alluded to (p. 191)

as if to establish this surmise, it is used for

head on a denarius of the

a mint-mark in front of Apollo's

Together with the Candlestick of the Tabernacle,

Family Yibia.
it is

cut on the tombstone, bearing a trilingual epitaph (Hebrew,

Greek, Latin) of the Jewess Mellelosa lately discovered at Tortosa,

,

which dates from the Gothic kingdom of Spain

the end of the

Figured in the Rev. Archfiologique

sixth century.

The Candlestick appears

even under the Lower Empire, as

in

p. 345.

I860,

for

numerous other examples

the distinguishing

mark

of a

Jewish gravestone.

Plate XII.
Tablet, figured of the actual size, neatly cut in compact slate

or hone stone.
vertical columns,

The centre is
which at first

filled

with symbols arranged in

sight resemble Egyptian hiero-

glyphics, but which on examination prove of a totally different

character.

This inscribed tablet has for supporters, on the

(heraldically speaking)
right, a

Man

to support

a Seraph with folded wings

seated at a strangely shaped table,

upon

his knees.

He may

since his close-fitting garment

which he seems

be intended for a Templar,

much resembles

a mail-shirt, as

does his head-dress the iron skull-cap worn by that Order.

bas-relief has indubitably a

whether

it

much

This

deep and cabalistic meaning, but

goes back to the Templars epoch, or merely formed

part of the paraphernalia

at a

left

on the

of

some alchemist or Rosicrucian

later date, it is totally

beyond

my

power

to decide

though the material, so much employed by the Germans for

small bas-reliefs in the fifteenth century, and the peculiar neatness of the execution, rather incline

it

me

towards the latter

to whence it came
was bought from a dealer by Mr. Litchfield, Cambridge.
Amongst the devices on this tablet some much resemble, and

explanation.

Nothing can be discovered as

probably are, the distorted Cufic letters occasionally employed by

Q 2


DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATES.

228

the French mediaeval artists in their decorations of friezes and

borders of MSS., without any reference to their actual sense, of

which the sculptor or illuminator was

a most instructive article

is

(1845),

Sur

by Longperier,

in the Rev. Archeol.

Pemploi des caracteres Arabes dans lornamenta-

tion par les peuples Chretiens dans lOccident, giving

examples, of which the most important are

1.

at

large stained-glass

window

2.

Dame

God

numerous

in the church of St. Julien

Mans, in the borders of which the

Praise be to

There

totally ignorant.

forming the words

letters

are frequently repeated.

long frieze of Cufic letters around the portal of Notre

de Puy.

3. St.

Limoges enamelled chasse, in

Peter, on the door of a

the style of the thirteenth century

Cufic letters in the field and

in the border beneath.

4.

This contains

our tablet

and

is

many

characters greatly resembling those of

the frieze enclosing the figure of a man, set

Of

in the gable-end of a house faciDg the Cathedral, Bourges.

these some are given in Plate XIII., series H.

The Cup

of Charlemagne, long preserved in the

Madeleine, Chateaudun, as that emperors

la

in the Chartres

Museum), proves

to

own

Abbaye de

donation (now

be an Egyptian Hanap

dating from the close of the twelfth century, and most probably

brought back by one of

ference

is filled

St.

Louis crusaders.

The circum-

with a beautifully cut inscription, the

letters

having their sides enamelled in red, and their deepest parts

Again, amongst the symbols

in our tablet

gilt.

we seem to recognise

the Pythagorean Numerals, thus figured in a most ancient MS.

of Boethius Geometry,

Plate XIII. G.

phyry

composed in the sixth century.

See

The Pythagorean Moderatus, quoted by Por-

(Yit. Pythag.), states that the

numerals of Pythagoras

were hieroglyphical symbols, by means whereof he explained

That these symbols were

ideas concerning the nature of things.

ten in

The

number appears from

figure of a Crucible

quently repeated

is

Aristotle (Met. vii. 7), that some

fie-

with a handle

may

mitive horn-book.

the square object

{

also

be the

pri-

31

<

0^

p3

ill

S'

-U

rO

f
b

CT)^

1c

ft

73

7|

lab

<

?>

"3

M-

"&
+

'Ll

N
'a
~L

(-H -

<t

DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATES.

philosophers hold that Ideas and

amount

nature, and

to

Ten

Numbers

229

are of the same

in all.

Of these Numerals some of the forms occasionally occur in the

Gnostic legends, whilst others are as decidedly characters taken

from

alphabets

ancient

the various

themselves, apparently

modifications of the Egyptian Demotic, of

adduced

which examples

are

in the following plate.

Plate XIII.
A. Plindoo Symbols and Sectarian Marks, or Yantras (taken

from Moors Hindoo Pantheon.

Plate II.).

2.

Type
Type

3.

Sherkun union of the two deities.

1.

of Mahadeva, or Siva, Fire personified.

of Vishnu, or Water.
,

emblem
famous Solomons Seal. The
4.

With

existing.

circle,

equilateral

Triune coequality.

presses

of Siva and

five points,

Point,

Trikun,

the

The

this is the

triangle,

Puru

Brahma, or Eternity.

a circle, Trinity in Unity

Brahma

ex-

Deity, self-

triangle within

the circle within the triangle, Unity

in Trinity.

The worshippers

of a Sadi or
,

sacred jar with the symbol (5)

of Siva with (3)

Amongst the
occur (8) and
coins.

The

Hindoos on

emblem

Female Principle, mark

those of Vishnu with (6 )

of the union of Siva and Durga.

signatures of the ancient Jaina kings (Buddhists)

(9), also

the identical

six following are

their foreheads

seen

Meander

on Greek

Caste-Marks, put daily by the

with cow-dung ashes, powder of

various coloured earths, and sandal- wood, producing a

variety

their

those

by the employment

of different colours

these

great

mark the

votaries of Vishnu.

B. These denote the followers, Saivas and Sactas, of Siva and

his wife Parvati.
is distinctly

tris,

And

The most expressive symbol

of passive! nature

enough expressed in their general form

which on that account Sesos-

says Herodotus, sculptured upon,

the tablets commemorating the conquest of such nations as

had sub-

these being

mitted to him without resistance.

similar mark appears on the forehead
of

the

colossal

Montfaucon as an

Athor,

figured

Isis (pi. 113).

by

DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATES.

230

the deities presiding over change, propagation, or transformation,

caUed by the vulgar Death.

C. Other

Caste-Marks,

denoting minute differences1 in the

by Moor they are

number many

sects bearing them, not distinctly set forth

repeated here, inasmuch as they reckon in their

of our mediaeval signs.

D. Characters of the old Slavic alphabet, Glalgol

used pre;

and

language to Sanscrit,

may

viously to the invention of Cyrils in the ninth century

which, considering the

affinity of that

Some

very well have had an Indian origin.

of these characters

are certainly identical with those on Plate VIII., No.

E.

De Saulcy

I.

(Rev. Arch., 1845) gives a very ancient African

alphabet (not of Punic origin) used in the famous bilingual

inscription

of Thugga.

With

Berber alphabet, written out

shows

it

this

he compares the modern

him by Abd

for

to be evidently a corruption

el

Kader, and

of the ancient forms.

This ancient alphabet offers a striking analogy to the Egyptian

Demotic,

its

Many

probable parent.

of its forms

cognised on our gems, a fact easily explained

may be

re-

by the common

origin of both.
F.

The Palmyrene

Louvre contain, amongst

inscriptions in the

others, the characters here copied, all of

formulse.

This

totally different

is

a primitive Syriac alphabet, of an origin

from either Punic or Pehlevi.

distinct character existed appears

(Hser. lxvi.) that

number

which occur in Gnostic

Manes divided

That such a

from what Epiphanius records

his

work

into 22 books, the

of the letters in the Syriac alphabet.

For most of the

Persians use the Syriac characters as well as the Persian, 8 just

The

from India into Greece with the emi-

present Sanscrit alphabet, as

appears in its primitive simplicity

(as yet uncorrupted by the flourishes
of Brahminical calligraphists) in the
rock-cut edicts of King Asoka, about
b.c. 300, consists unmistakeably of the
sixteen letters that composed the original Greek alphabet, but all placed
Prinsep
in an inverted position.
hereupon builds a most ingenious
theory that these characters came

grations of the

it

converse

may be

Aryan

race

but the

nearer the truth, and

Asokas scribes, like the Greeks themselves, have leamt the use of phonetic
characters from the Phoenician traders,
whose visits to India had commenced
long before the opening of authentic

history.
j

'

This remark applies equally to

the earliest

ages,

for

many Baby-

DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATES.

as

many

nations

with

us,

though they have a national alphabet

of their own, yet employ the Greek.

themselves upon using

Others forsooth pride

most recondite

the

dialect, viz.

current at Palmyra, both the dialect itself and

these are 22 in number.
Persians, a full

231

its

letters,

that

and

In this affectation of the learned

reason presents

itself for

the

appearance of

Palmyrene characters in formulas composed and sold by the Magi

and their disciples amongst the Asiatic Greeks.
G. These Pythagorean numerals, of

unknown

antiquity, pre-

served by the famous Boethius, the last of the Romans, are

undoubtedly the origin of our so-called Arabic numerals, as will

appear on reversing those standing for

1, 2, 5, 7, 8, 9, 0.

Their

forms look like modifications of the Palmyrene alphabet.

H. Specimens of the Cufic

bas-relief,
I.

letters

forming the border of the

Bourges, above described.

Regular

Masons

Marks,

copied

by Ouseley from the

ashlar of the old palace of Saaditalat, near Ispahan, in the belief

that they were the letters of an ancient,

Ionian cylinders have their legends in

a Semitic character, used in preference to the more complicated, national, cuneiform, doubtless a scanty
alphabet, for

its

successor

and

offspring

the Pehlevi had only 13 letters.

unknown

language.

curious fact this

belief being, that

by

the usual

this time, a.d.

had been
superseded by the Greek or Latin
within the limits of the Roman empire.
400, all the old alphabets

232

DESCRIPTION OF THE WOODCUTS.

These woodcuts (drawn to double the actual

size)

include

the most interesting variations in the representation of the

all

type for the Abraxas

established

my

under

Pantheos that have come

This fanciful creation of Basilides, though

notice.

ever the same in essentials, never is to be found exactly identical

in form on

any two monuments, but infinitely and markedly

by some change in its gesture, attitude, attributes,
and by the ever varied arrangement of the titles and invocations
diversified

Another

addressed to the Idea therein presented to the eye.

remarkable point deserves notice here

this Pantheos invariably

occupies the field alone, representing as

head

and thus again manifesting

it

does the supreme God-

be the offspring of a

itself to

monotheistic philosophy, to which

would have been an ab-

it

surdity, not to say impiety, to associate their type of the

One

and the Whole with a companion of the same nature.

The seven woodcuts

originally engraved for
lent for this

Title-jpage.

to

of

gems formerly in the Praun

my

book by Mr. Murray.

with the jackal-head of Anubis, and therefore

Iao,

be regarded here as assuming the

office

ducting departed souls to the judgment

an acceptation, was adopted

the latter with

The

a fact explaining Tertullians

is

safest nurse of their devotion,

its

trite

Issus, not to

by some
But

and the votive picture of Alexamenos.

inscription as the

fellows, in the sense This is the

them

This image, in such

with that ignorance of antiquity which

mother and the

ships.

of the latter, the con-

seat.

to typify their Christos,

amongst the Egyptian Gnostics

allusion (p. 91),
divines,

cabinet,

Antique Gems, have been kindly

Pompeian

mere

god the

tablet

both the

go on citing

scoff of his

fool

pagan

Alexamenos wor-

Yatiam sedilem orat scriba

mention innumerable others, might have taught

that the expressing ones respect in the third person

the established

mode

was

of placing oneself under the patronage of

either a divine or a mortal superior.

DESCRIPTION OF THE WOODCUTS.

1.

233

This beautiful Apollos bust, a work of the best times,

introduced here, in order to exemplify what

is

is

said (p. 85) of

the Gnostic custom of borrowing and adapting to their

own

dogmas whatever seemed analogous in ancient iconology.

Be-

hind the head

is

manner of hieroglyphic legends

vertical

OY

prize, written in the

a more barbarous hand

COY,

has subsequently supplied in front

for

neatly inserted BAI,

Arabs yet substitute the

for the

probably intended
s for

the th in their

pronunciation.

This intaglio, with

its

mysterious accompaniment, reminds

one of the Pythian Apollo set in the ring of Eucrates, who, he

and warned him by

declared, often uttered a voice

(Authors Collection.)

Sard.

2.

his oracles.

Phoebus erect in his quadriga, holding in one hand the

restrial globe, the other raised in the gesture of

this ancient type, either Mithras, or the

Sun

ter-

command. Under
of Righteousness,

indubitably understood (see p. 49), as appears from the invocation above him, ABAANA0ANABAA, Thou art our
is

Father

to

which the Hellenic sun-god had no claim accord-

ing to the ancient system of mythology.

from the Syriac Ab, Father

us

lanu, to

This address, derived

atha

thou art

is

in

most cases written with some variation, by omitting or repeating

4. of
one

component

its

frequent

title

somewhat barbarous,
on a coin of Probus,
Reverse

In the exergue TYiEJEYI, a

The work

to

whose days

this remarkable stone

silver

may

loadstone, but slightly magnified in

Diana, or Luna, holding by the horns and

guiding the bull, emblem of the Earth.

drawn by a

and

of the intaglio, stiff

closely agrees with that of the similar type

A large

safely be referred.

the cut.

syllables.

of Mithras.

Lunas car

is

properly

an attribute translated from the

antelopes harnessed to the wain of her prototype, the
pair of silver bulls

Hindoo Chandra. (Mr. Eastwood.)

3.

The Abraxas god, invested with

Phoebus

a unique type, described at

Abraxas, here invoked as

all

p. 86.

the

attributes

Green

CEMESGIAAM,

of

jasper.

The Eternal

DESCRIPTION OF THE WOODCUTS.

234

Sun: a good engraving, and intended

for

a signet, as the

reversing of the letters on the stone proves.

AAMAM

singular title

he

the

is

(Our Food?)

spiritual food

ABPACAZ

Reverse

the

implying that

Black loadstone.

of the believer.

(Authors Collection.)

The most

5.

come

in

spirited representation of this type that has ever

my way

the

in the gods gesture, and in the vibra-

life

much

tion of his serpent supporters, exhibits

From

not as yet extinct.

may be referred

verses of Sept. Severus, this intaglio

just before

CABAtO,

began

to his epoch,

Reverse

rapid decline.

IAU)
Iao, glory unto thee engraved in a large, elegant
art

its

Green

letter.

6.

Roman

of the ancient taste

the similarity in style to certain re-

(Authors Collection.)

jasper.

A design singularly rich in mystic adjuncts

having letters

somewhat resembling the Punic engraved upon the

interior of

the gods shield, in the field at his side, and below the serpents

A novel

in the last set is conspicuous the Delphic Etion

here

is

meaning
letters,

to

H MAM OP:

introduced,

the

AAMAM

either standing

on No.

for

SH in large

Reverse:

4.

the holy

appella-

evidently cognate in

name

Jeh, or, as

mere

numerals, for 18. Around the sloping edge, partly defective, runs

!X@@U)HIA IAU) !AAAU)NIOIO,

which the names Iao and Alon, a Hebrew appellation of the

the continuous inscription,

in

Deity (Martials Anchialus ), occur.

In

opening one cannot

its

help fancying an intended allusion to the

Jesus Christ.

Green

name and

titles of

jasper, unusually well engraved. (Authors

Collection.)

7.

Abraxas, bearing a kite-shaped (Sicilian) shield, instead of

the customary circular clypeus.

and carefully done, and

in

This engraving

may safely be

which Basilides himself flourished.

8.

The hawk-headed Phre,

above,

holding

Egyptian symbol

forth

for the

is

well

drawn

assigned to the very period

Green

jasper.

Praun.

or sun-god, with the seven vowels

round

shield,

world (see

emblazoned with the

p. 105),

and his

title,

perhaps

DESCRIPTION OF THE WOODCUTS.

to

be read

AAMAM

as in No. 4, or

Well engraved in green

lotns,

two wheat-ears. The legend reads

in

HMAMOPO

from the root of which spring

GEM EC

(the last

monogram) EIAAM, the Eternal Sun.

the invocation

Thon

as in No. 6.

Prann.

jasper.

Horns seated npon the

9.

235

two

letters

This epithet and

art our Father, being

apparently the

established style for this boy-god (originally the sun, yet feeble
in the spring quarter),

Christos

makes

was implied under

Alexandria

its

more than probable that

by the

shelter

their

syncretists

of

would be altogether inapproregarded in his primary accepta-

for the latter address

priate to so infantine a deity,

tion.

it

really good intaglio in black jasper.

(Authors Col-

lection.)

10. Serapis

a bust between two

stars,

emblems of the Dios-

curi, the fratres Helenae, lucida sidera

of most benign in-

upon the wings of a gryphon

fluence, supported

seiant.

This

animal, the peculiar attribute in olden times of Phoebus, shows

that

Serapis

Drawn

here regarded as the solar god (see

is

to the actual size

Watertons Collection, to

p. 65).

engraved upon an iron ring, in Mr.

whom my

best thanks are due for the

loan of the cut of this valuable type, and also of the next.

11. Serapis

a bust in full

relief, artistically

cut out of bronze,

and forming the head of a ring, all in one piece. This unique
example explains Plinys imaginem principis ex auro , and
therefore in relief, not incised in the

gold, in auro

which

Claudius allowed as a badge of distinction to those admissible at

court.

The execution

a material, is masterly

12.

74),

A very fine

who

of this miniature bust, though in so base

beyond

all description.

example of the Agathodaemon talisman (see

proclaims in the legend I

Eternal Sun.

He

am

p.

Good Spirit, the

cista, whence his

the

stands upon the circular

representative used to emerge at the Ophite Eucharist. Calcedony

with dark shades.

Praun.

DESCRIPTION OF THE WOODCUTS.

236

The neophyte

13.

blindfolded,

back (the established type

and

his

nnder a column supporting

hood),

emblem

its

Egyptian

reverse offers a figure too

meaning even

to

be conjectured, and

inscribed with the names of Nicandra and Sosandra

the actual signification of these female names,

and Keep-husband, one may presume

Green

a love-charm.

14.

is

looking to

Win-husband

this stone designed for

Praun.

jasper.

Hermes, guide of departed

superis

priest-

gryphon, that special

The

of the snn (see p. 61).

rudely engraved for

hands tied behind his

for the signet of the

souls,

deoram

Gratus et imis,

assisting a ghost to

his caduceus,

eyes (see

emerge from the earth through the virtue of

which he holds
In the

p. 90).

in a significant

field C.

three names, have been added

A. D.,

by

manner before

initials of

a later

its

some Romans

and coarser hand.

Doubtless the owner pleased himself mightily with the rebus

that the

Romans

gods

attribute formed

upon

of republican times being, as the

piously witness, so partial to similar plays

intaglio is in the hard, carefully finished,
ner,

own

his

upon a

fine

banded

agate.

initials

the

family denarii co-

upon words. The

archaic Greek man-

(Authors Collection, from the

Praun.)

15.

The Hermes

A rude

of the Golden Seven, described at p. 108.

engraving on sard.

(Praun,

now

in the Authors Col-

lection.)

16.

complete assemblage of Mithraic symbols, nearly coin-

ciding with Chiflets described in the text (p. 54).

The sacred

with the consecrated bread and the chalice, are con-

table,

spicuous in the exergue.

Rudely engraved in green jasper.

Praun.

17.

The

Isiac Vase, filled

with the

marked with a symbol similar

gifts

of that deity, and

in nature to that still painted

by

DESCRIPTION OP THE WOODCUTS.

the

Hindoo worshippers of

Ked

p. 176).

Sacti

upon

their sacrificial jars (see

me

out of a lot of Sassanian

Praun.

jasper.

This curious sard, selected by

18.

237

and Cufic stones lately brought from the East, adds another
the

list of

which attention was

first called

by Chabouillet

evidently represents the Salutation

hands

the design in the quaint,

Each

school.

to

the rare memorials of the early Persian Nestorians, to

figure

is

(see p. 143).

It

Mary and Elizabeth joining

stiff manner of the Sassanian
;

precisely identical

each wears a

fillet,

and exhibits the long floating ribbon, and thickly plaited

silk

gowns, the peculiar costume of the royal ladies in the harems of

the Sapors and the Yarahrans of the age.

them

The

19.

In the

field

between

the cross- tipped sceptre.

is

singular Christian intaglio described at p. 142.

jasper, selected, it

would seem,

for the sake of its

(Authors Collection.)

colour to the subject.

my own

All the -following cuts are drawn from the originals in

possession,

treated

and are introduced here

to illustrate certain points

upon in the foregoing pages.

Belus attired in a long Babylonian garment, of needle-

20.
.

Eed

analogy in

work of divers colours (expressed by the numerous squares

composing

it),

seated on his throne, holds forth to his adorer the

by simple inversion the mound (mundus) of

Above him floats the most ancient emblem of the Godhead, the winged sun of the Hebrew prophet (see pp. 49, 72).

sign of

life,

later

royalty.

This intaglio

is

a masterpiece of Assyrian art

equal

to,

and

identical in its execution with that of the finest Etruscan scarabs.

Cylinder in loadstone.
21.

Locust mounted upon a goat.

statue of Aphrodite

To remember

that the

Pandemos by Scopas at Elis was similarly

enthroned, leaves no doubt as to the true intention of this talis-

man

(see p. 212).

Sard.

DESCRIPTION OF THE WOODCUTS.

238
22.

The Evil Eye surrounded by antidotes

for every

day in the week, in the attribute

over each,

against

the lion for dies Solis, the stag for

viz.,

influence

its

of the deity presiding

d.

Lunae, the

scorpion for d. Martis, the dog for d. Mercurii, &c. (p. 115).
Sard.

23. Serapis as the solar god,

of Esculapius (see p. 225).

24.

The winged

Homers Aura

with in ancient

was unable

foot of the angel of death extinguishing life

Jacinth.

(see p. 159).

25. Fate,

and assuming the proper emblem

Sard of the deepest blood red.

one of the rarest types to be met

In Stoschs vast collection Winckelmann

art.

to find a single indubitable example.

The goddess

has the necklace, armlets, and the peculiar disk -formed ear-drops
so frequent in Etruscan jewelry, adjuncts which, besides the

peculiar archaic style, indicate the period of this interesting intaglio.

20.

Brown

agate with transverse shades.

The Delphic

(see p. 198) the true original of that puz-

zling device the Seleucidan anchor (p. 136).

27.

The Mithraic Bull couchant

nificant fact that

on

all

Cameo

(see p. 57).

in

flat relief.

It is a

very

sig-

these Persian gems the sacred bull

is

invariably of the Brahminee breed, whilst that, the object of

the chase,

is

the ordinaiy European beast.

of the second

Bat Ehsru

period,

Legend, in Pehlevi

The spirit of Chosroes.

The legend round this type usually contains the name of

another in my possession reads Bast
the reigning monarch
;

Shahpuhri, Sapor the Just.

Spinel.

239

ADDENDA.
BBACHMANS.

P. 25.

That the sect celebrated by the ancients under

tion

this appella-

were rather Buddhists than Brahmins (their inveterate

opponents), appears from one circumstance connected with their

institutions alluded to

by Strabo (Book XV.).

He

speaks of

their devoting thirty years to the study of divinity, living in a

community

(or monastery, vihar ) sequestered

from the world, in

the woods surrounding their respective cities, and totally abstaining from animal food

the Brahmins, to leave offspring behind

duty,

upon the

fulfilment of

heaven depends.

Now, with

and sexual intercourse.

them

is

a most sacred

which even their admission

into

Whether the Buddhists be the representatives

of the primal religion of India, or only the pre-Protestants of the

more ancient Brahminical church,

it is

the natural logic of

dissidents from an established creed to ridicule

and

all

pronounce

to

damnable the favourite tenets of their adversaries.

Witness

Martin Luther, with his invectives against vows of virginity,

and his motto,

Wer

Der

Similarly

we

Weib, Wein, und Gesang,

Narr sein lebenslang.

liebt nicht

lebt ein

find the Essenes

running counter to the ancient

notions of their race on the same particular, and spontaneously

embracing what the Mosaic law had denounced as the greatest

of curses, the leaving no posterity behind to keep

up

their

name

in Israel.

To exemplify
states that the

the severe discipline of his Brachmans, Strabo

mere act of blowing the nose, or spitting, caused

ADDENDA.

240

the offender to be for that day excluded, as incontinent , from tbe

society of bis fellow recluses.

amongst other Essenian

all

But even

their

surpassed, and in our days,

is

Yogis,

who

all

from

upon the Sabbath day.

natural evacuations

rigour

from

Similarly Josephus particularises,

rules, the obligation of abstaining

by a

certain sect of

Hindoo

have completely emancipated themselves

profess to

such defiling necessities of nature.

This they

effect

by

living entirely on milk, which, after retaining a short time in

the stomach, they throw up by swallowing a ball fastened to a

and maintain the animal expenditure solely through the

string,

nutriment imbibed by the system during the continuance of the

liquid in the stomach,
to

which consequently leaves no residuum

descend into the bowels.

reductio

A practice

this,

a most complete

ad absurdum of the doctrine of meritorious continence,

and exhibiting, on the ludicrous

side, the

mischievous conse-

quences of being too logical in matters of religion.

GNOSTIC HATRED OF JUDAISM.

In

this degradation

Jewish theology,

is

of the names, the

P. 28.

most sacred in the

unmistakeably to be recognised the very

teaching of those dreamers condemned by Jude

(i. 8) for
despising Dominion, and speaking evil of Dignities. For

Dominion

is

the

Empire in the Sephiroth

(see p. 12), to

which the Kabala had assigned the title of Adonai. Now, we

here find the Ophites making Adonai the third son of Ildabaoth,
a malignant genius, and, like his brethren, the constant adversary of the Christ.
of the Sephiroth,

Jude

clearly

The Dignities are

similarly

the other personages

degraded in the

new

theogony.

shows what he had in view, by contrasting in the

next verse the audacity of these blasphemers (the word he

uses) with the respect displayed by Michael towards his opponent on account of his angelic character, though fallen from his

high

estate.

By

a most singular coincidence (much too close to

be merely accidental) Judes censure, nay, his very expressions,

are repeated

by Peter in

his Second Epistle

these epistles were really written

(ii.

10).

If either of

by the Apostles whose names

they bear, these passages indicate the very early existence

ADDENDA.

241

of this particular school of Gnosticism, theorising thus perhaps

before the preaching of Christianity.

Ppa^ara.

E^ecrta

P. 74.

Amongst the interminable invocations covering some of these

talismans, lie hidden,

we may

posed by Solomon himself

suspect, those potent spells com-

repeating which, and at the same

time applying to the sufferers noses his ring (under whose

gem was

placed the herb prescribed by the same oracle of

Jew

wisdom), the

many, in the presence of Yespasian, his

devils that possessed

tribunes and chief

all

Eleazar drew out through their nostrils the

The

officers.

sapient Josephus adds, that to

prove the reality of the exit of the demoniacal usurper, the

exorcist
filled

commanded him

in his flight to overturn a foot-bath

with water, standing at some distance

which was

with done, to the consternation and conviction of

all

forth-

the heathen

spectators.

The

Ephesian Spell, so

be found at

mighty

in driving out devils, will

p. 94.

There can be no doubt that such spells were

their purpose.

epilepsy
belief)

(or

efficacious for

Demoniacal possession was nothing more than

possession, a

name derived from the same

for Galen, after rationally discussing the

medical causes

of that malady, adds, that the vulgar universally attributed

to

the influence of evil

Mesmerism shows

spirits.

Now,

(so far as there is

as

any

it

our experience of
reality in that pet

science of quacks and charlatans) the most wonderful effects can

be produced upon persons labouring under nervous derangement

by words

of

powerful

if

command

authoritatively uttered

how much more

pronounced in an unknown tongue, by a person of

imposing presence, and over patients already filled with faith in

his ability to relieve

them

Hence

the casting out devils

was

the grand staple of their trade with all the thaumaturgists, both
old and new, in the ages with

which we are now dealing.

That

the cure should be permanent was a thing perfectly immaterial

it

being quite enough for the purpose of the exorcist that the

manifestation of his superhuman power should have succeeded

ADDENDA.

242

moment,

for the

to the edification of the awestruck

crowd of

assembled believers, and to the confusion of the few rationalistic

doubters amongst their number.

Such

gave power over demons ranging unconfined

spells also

Eucrates, in Lucians amusing Philopseudes,

in a fleshly prison.

boasts that he

meet thousands of demons

so accustomed to

is

ranging about, that at last he has come not to notice them at

more

forged out of the nails of a cross,

made up

of

many names.

our researches

The

that some of

them

latter expression is valuable for

proves that the legends in an

it

longue consist of strings of

all,

had given him the ring

and taught him the charm

especially since the Arabian

titles

of the

unknown

power invoked, and

also

at least are couched in Arabic. 1

Philostratus does not state whether the virtue of the seven

rings (one for each day of the week), presented to Apollonius

the

Brachman

wondrous was

Iarchas, lay in
its

potency, for

their

gems

or their sigils

by
but

by wearing them he preserved

not merely his bodily strength, but even his personal beauty,

beyond his hundredth year.

CABALISTIC LEGENDS.
There

is

P.134.

a passage in Dante (Paradiso, XVIII.) replete with

the profoundest symbolism, which of course the Freemasons

claim for their

own

and that with

all possible security, for

the

very nature of their assumption exempts them from the obligation of publishing

an interpretation of the mystery therein

cloaked from the view of the profane.

Dante describes how

Apollonius Tyaneus enjoyed the

preserved by tradition alone, those of

credit in the second century of hav-

Apollonius are most numerous, and

actually manifested in present facts,

so as to lead astray all beholders ?

ing manufactured the

most potent
T\e(Tfj.aTa
Justin Martyr firmly believed in them, for he asks (Quaest.
;

xxiv.)

How is it

He

answers this query by referring

that the talismans

their etficacy to the deep knowledge

of Apollonius have power in certain

members of creation, for they prevent,

of thisthaumaturgus in the sympathies

we

the fury of the waves, and

the violence of the winds, and the
attacks of mice (flies) and wild beasts
and, whilst our Lords miracles are
as

see,

and repugnancies of Nature. These

talismans seem to have been formulae
or spells in words to judge from the

expressions of
objects.

Justin

not

tangible

ADDENDA.
the Five times Seven letters

making up the Five words Diligite

justitiam qui judicatis terram,

and the

243

came forth in the

star Jupiter,

beatified spirits of just princes hovered over the

assuming in their arrangement the outline of an eagle. 1

tainly the importance given to the

savours

much

number Five

of the Gnostic terminology,

the thirty letters in the quadri-syllabic

(p. 39).

In the

Hammer, had he

M,

Cer-

in this allegory

and reminds one of

name

revealed to Marcus

so prominently honoured

by the

just,

Yon

noticed this passage, would infallibly have dis-

covered his Mete of the Templars.

But the hidden sense of the Ghibelline poet was,

more

safely presumed,

political

than religious.

may be

it

This

seems

evident from the conspicuous part played in the apparition by

either that of the

the eagle

German emperor, whose

aid Italia

through his verse perpetually invokes, or else the cognizance of

his patron at Ravenna,

who

In sulla scala porta

As

for the

il

Santo Uccello.

M, which must have appeared

a conjecture

may

be hazarded that

it

in its

Lombardic form,

here stands for the very

similar astronomical symbol (ala Yirginis) for Astrsea, and only

typifies Justice in the abstract, thus

embodying in

itself

the

spirit of the entire sentence.

TEE CEBISMA.

P. 135.

In the later Byzantine inscriptions the monogram of Christ

is

by a short bar between A and 0, the

The vowels also are frelast the then current form of the 12.
This peculiarly arranged monogram is
quently transposed.
expressed by the

largely

employed

crossed

in

the

ornamentation of

Italian

notably in church pavements, as in Milan Cathedral

being read as the Latin

He has before

OPA,

(Canto YI.) spoken

awe that masters him before

the B and the ICE evidently initials
of some mighty pass-word, although
of the

it is

his

Gothic,
;

where,

misinterpreted as referring

most prosaically
them as the mere diminutive

commentators

interpret

of Beatrice.

R 2

ADDENDA.

244
to the Operai or

Board of Works

to distinguish

inserted

of the particular city,

what had been executed under

and

their

superintendence.

A GA TH0D2EM0N TALISMANS.
The

finest

example of the

class

known

municated by the kindness of the owner)

to
is

me

(recently com-

a most beautiful

convex plasma, presenting Chnuphis erect above his invariable

accompaniment, and offering on the reverse, most elegantly

OCOP-MEP<|>-<i>EPrAMAPA(Bosanquet Col<f>P!AYPIC-XNOY<!>!C-NAB!C-KICNY.

inscribed, the novel legend,

lection).

245

INDEX.
ABAANA0ANABAA.

birthday.
Antonys cross, 135.
Anubis, 41, 90.

A.

cross-bearing, 150.

ABAANA0ANABAA,

81, 233.

Abracadabra derived, 104.

Apollonius Tyaneus, 25, 242.

Apuleius, his pocket Mercury, 145.

Abracura, 37.

Arab influence on European

Abram, Brahma,

13, 100.

Abraxas, the name, 36, 78.

Arduisher, 105.
Arioriph, or Truth, 211.

figure, 81.

stones, 33, 36.

Aristobulus, Rabbi,

Achamoth,

Ark

27.

Achoreus, 83.

Adam-Kadmon, 12
AAONAI, 81/101.

figure of, 208.

iEons, 13.

names

of,

Arrow-headed alphabet, 151.

Asclepiades, 145.
Asiah, the world, 13.

Assassin, derivation of, 186.

37.

name

of India, 67.

Agathodsemon, 75.
Ahriman, 8.

Astaphaios, Mercury, 28.

Astral genii, 88.
Atergatis, 138.

Albigenses, 120.

Alexamenos, the god of, 90.

Alexandrian Jewish school, 2.
Alphabets, barbarian, in the 4th cen-

Athor, 42.
Atori, Persian salute, 97.
Aziluth, world, 13.

tury, 231.

A napyiX,

B.

103.

Ammaradevas prayer,
Amshaspands, 7, 63.
Amulet derived, 115.

107.

Andreses

Rosy

Cross, 177.

forms, 31.

Bhavani

prototype of Gorgon, 67,

173.

102, 205.

Antitactse, 184.

Antitheses of the Gnosis,

128.

Bells, inventors of, 72.

Angel, or soul, 127.

A. N.F.T., 142.
>

Baphomet, 123.
Baphometic idols, 179, 186.
Barbelo, Mother of Creation,
Basilides, 33, 76.
Beasts, the Four, 209.

of, 15.

A vox Xo\x vv & LS

prize, 101.

Bait, 83.

of Seleucus, 136.

Angels, names

Babylonii numeri, 151.

Bahman, 63.
B ouvx<, a secret

Anaid, 59.
Ananizapta, 132.

Anchor

2.

of the Covenant, 204.

Aski, kataski, 94.

Asokas edict, 22.

Adros, vdros, 129.

^Ethiopia, ancient

art, 185,

227.

4.

Biforme numen, 81.

Birthday of Christ, 49.

INDEX.

246

BLOOD-OFFERINGS.

EGG.
Christians, the

Blood-offerings to ghosts, 66.

Boaz and Jachin,

God

of, 91.

types, 141.

12, 106.

Boethian numerals, their origin, 230.

Christopher,

Boodha-Gaya

Circle of the sun, 153.

inscription, 117.

St.,

134.

Bouillon, Cardinal, 147, 151.

Clemens Alexandrinus, 77, 129.

Colic, amulet against, 139.

Brachmans in Greece,

Commodus initiated into the Mithraica,

Boundless Time, 21.

25.

47.

Branchos, spell of, 94.

Brethren, the Scottish, 183.
Briah, 13.
British Magi, 189.
British

Museum

British

Museum, Gnostic

Trustees,

Creation, according to Zoroaster, 8.

Crepundia, amulets, 116, 124.

Creuzers plasma, 101.

xiii.

stones, 118.

how

figured, 54, 202.

Buddha, meaning of,

Buddhist system, 21.

72.

Cubricus, 16.

Christian stones, 139.

Bromius,

Crux Ansata,

Crystal lamp, 124.

Cufic letters in Gothic ornamentation,

227.

17, 215.

Cyclamen, 115.
Cynocephalus, 44, 208.

in Palestine, 22.

Bulgarian sect, 183.

Burial, Persian mode of, 61.
alive for penance, 168.
Bythos, 27.

D.
Dag, Talmudical, 138.

Damnameneus, 94.
Daniel, a Magus, 9,
C.
Cabalistic initials, 134.
Calasiris, 113.

Candlestick of the Tabernacle, 226.

Capricorn, ferryer of ghosts, 158.

Canopus, 89.
Carpocratian idols, 138.
Caspar, Melchior, Baltasar, 50, 133.
Caste-marks, 62, 229.
Cat, worshipped by the Templars, 194.
Cave of Mithras, 54, 63.
Cerberus, whence derived, 66, 160.
mystical interpretation of, 65.

of,

129, 187.

Isis, 154.

Diana Hymnia,

24.

Ephesia, 171.
Dis, Death, 168.

Docetse, 35.

Dog, Mithraic, 44.

Dog

of the Parsees, 60.

Dracontia, 73.

Dragon-formed Euler, 128.

Dreams procured by

spells, 75.

Druids, Mithraic, 60.

suppressed by Claudius, 189.

6.

Chaos, 170.

Druses, 183.

Charity, Gnostic, 121.

Durers charm against the plague, 130.

Christian, 178.

Durga, 79.

Charlemagne, cup of, 227.

Charun, Etruscan Pluto, 158.
Child-sacrifice,

Devi,

Devs, the, 14.

Devonshire talisman, 98.

Cameo, derived, 112.

Camillo Leonardo, 129.

Cerinthus,

69.

Decanus, 106.
Demiurgus, 34.
To do the work

and

eating,

E.
129; of

the Templars, 197.

Chnuphis derived, 73.

Eagle, the vehan of Buddha, 216.

Christos, Ophite, 27.

Delphicum, 192.
Eber, diaber, 134.
Effeminacy, symbol

Christians at Alexandria, 68.

Egg

Christ, his personal appearance, 69.

of,

of the world, 150.

229.

INDEX.

247

EGYPTIAN.
Egyptian, mythology, 40

IDOLS.
;

why a

Geomancy,

102.

Germanicus, magic practices against,

sacred tongue, 95.

Elephantiasis, amulet against, 221.

Emblem and symbol

derived, 120.

149.

German

Mithraicist Christians, 59.

Emerald, Russian, 146.

Giants, for evil

H va/xepw,

Glasses, early Christian, 141.

208.

spirits, 46, 76.

En-soph, 11.
Ephesus, mystse at, 2.
Ephesian spell, 74.
Epiphanius, vii. 32.

Good Shepherd, 144 Gnostic,

Gorgon, mask of Bhavani, 67.

ETTraypa/uL^aros Oeos, 152.

Gregory Nazianzen on spells, 116.

on infant baptism, 137.
Gregory Theologus on tomb-robbing,

Eirraxpv(ros

Er, vision

Gothic art derived from the Arabs, 1 86.

Gracchus, prsefectus Urbis, 54.

Hermes, 108.

of,

21.

Erataoth, 28.

126.

Arab

Eratagris, 101.

Grigris,

Erichthos spell, 170.

Grip, the Masonic, 121.

Essenes, 22

201.

the Ephesian, 171.

spells, 132.

Guild, Masonic, 174.

Evangelists, their emblems, 209.

Eucharist, Ophite, 32.

H.

of the Marcosii, 53.

Extreme unction, the

Gnostic, 126.

Eye, the Evil, 113.

imaged, 115.

Ha-aretz, mystic meaning

Harpe of Perseus, 67.

Harpy emblem of death,

F.

161.

Fathers, their statements, 5.

Hawk, the sun, 44.

Hebrew modern talismans,

Fermesse, rebus

Hecate

Face in the Moon, Plutarchs,

Ferouer,
Fire,

46.

77.

of,

of,

Pillars

229.

Fish emblem of the Messiah, 128.

Foot symbol of Death, 159.
Foot-print of

Adam,

160.

95.

triformis, 207.

Hermes Psychopompus,

8.

symbol

of, 15.

Hadrians letter to Servianus, 68.

Hand open, symbol, 109, 222.

of,

90.

106.

Hindoo sacred marks,

175, 229.

Horapollo, 43.

Horus, or Harpocrates, 43.

the Nile, 92.

of Christ, 160.

House, Solomons, 178.

of Vishnu, 167.

Four-winged genius, 105.

Freemasonry, 176.
French Gothic style, its origin, 186.

Human-headed

bird, 161.

Hydroparastatse, 225.

Hystaspes, Gushtasp, 173.

Templiers, 178.

Frog, 139.

I, J.
Gr.

Gabriel, early type

of,

Jaina kings, seal

140.

of,

176.

Iamblichus, 95.

Ganesa, god of wisdom, 203, 221.

Garnet tablet, 97.
Gates of gods and men, 45.
Gayatri explained, 164.

Jambres, Magus,

Jasper, virtues

of, 74.

Gazacus, fire-temple, 190.

Genealogy of Mary, 91.

Jaundice, cure

for,

Genii of the planets, 28.

Idols, portable, 145.

15.

Iao, 82.

Jackal, 44

Ibis,

-headed deity, 90, 199.

114.

symbol of moon, 44.

INDEX.

248

JEHOVAH.

MOBED.

Jehovah, Greek form of, 84.

Jehuel, Prince of Fire, 15.

Lettering, Gnostic, 98.

Letters formin g Truth, 39.

Incantations to raise the dead, 170.

Incubi and Succubae, 129.

Lingam, 199.
Lingam-Yoni, figure of the, 110.
Lion and hulls head, 57.
Lion-headed man, 59 goddess, 41, 99.
Liver-complaints, amulet against, 206.
Lizard, symbol of the Logos, 44.

Indian commerce with Egypt,

Locusts, of the Apocalypse, 209.

Jews

in Persia, 10.

Koman ideas of their religion, 85.

Jezirah, the world, 18.

Ildahaoth, 28.

17.

as amulets, 212.

Indolentia, 21.

Infant baptism, 137.

Logos of Marcus, 39.

Lotus of Isis, Marian lily,
Lotah, Hindoo cup, 222.

Inner Man, 127.

Lots, divination by, 102, 218.

Innspruck Tablet, 55.

Lunus

Ineffable

Name,

84, 163.

Infancy, Gospel of the, 133.

72.

deus, 41, 85.

Interpretation of legends, 103.

Isiac procession, 110; vase-mark, 176.

M.

Isis, 72.

Mace, weapon of Abraxas-god, 206.

Madonna, derived, 72.
Magi, their history, 172.
two schools of, 15.

Jupiter, astral influence of, 204.

Justinian extirpates Manicheism, 120.

I.

X. 0. T. 2.,

why

sacred, 138.

Izeds, 8.

Mahamaya,

Kabala, 10.
Kaiomorts, the primal man, 12.
Kalantika, 67.
Kali Bhavani, Diana Ephesia, 171.
Kafjiap, Moon, 95.
Karmala and Kashmala,

Karaxwv

168.

Manes, 16, 20.

Manicheans, 183.
Marcus, 39.
Maria Honorii, her tomb, 115.

K.
I

Marcellus Empiricus, 76.

Mark of the Beast, 61.

Marks, Masonic and Staple, 174.

Hindoo

168.

of the Acropolis, 116.

caste, 229.

MapurjvL, 102.
I

Kavlacav, 36, 82, 102.

Ker, Death, how figured, 162.
Kemers Scherin von Prevorst, 96.

Massini Villa, tomb at, 149.

Masson, Massoney, 122.
Materials of talismans, 112.

Kings, the Three, solar epithets, 50.

Klippoth, 13.

Maya,

Kritanta,

title

of

Yama,

166, 168.

L.
Labdacus, Magus, 18.
|

Labyrinth, Greek symbol, 176.

A avTaXa,

Miletus, inscription from, 93.

104.

Lantef Druidical temple, 190.

j

how imaged, 156, 212.

Later mode of gem-engraving,

Larva,

131.

Leaden hooks and scrolls, 147.

Leaden tablets used in magic, 149.
Lentulus, letter

illusion, 35.

Megabyzae, 1.
Mercury, genius of Christians, 53.
Meschia, Meschine, 8.
Messiah, sign of his coming, 138.
Metatron, value of his name, 15.
Mete, 182.
Michael, patron of the Jews, 29.

of,

69.

Leontica and Coracica, 59.

'

Mir, 59.
Missa, derived, 53.
Mitre, origin

of,

72.

Mithras, 47.

and the Bull,

57.

Mithraicising Christians, 59.

Mobed, represented, 209.

INDEX.

249

MOON.
Moon,

ROSICRU CIANS.

purifier of souls, 46.

Moses, Magus, 75.

MOTT, explained, 104.

Mummy,

with head radiated, 118.

swathed with serpent, 150.

Myriogeneses,

how

represented, 107.

Mystse, the ancient,

of Brise, their

2.

seal,

206,

NT.
Nails, the Three, 208.

Nakedness of Adam, 30.

of the sun and the moon, 215.

Pantheos of Basilides, 35.

Parma, baptistery at, 50.
Parzuphaim, 13.
Passover, the perfect, 129.
Pauls allusions to Gnosticism, 13.

Pegasus, seal of the Templars, 189.

Pehlevi alphabet, 151, 231.
Penances, meritorious, 168.
Pentacle of the Templars, 191.
Persea tree, 43.
Persephoneia, Bhavani, 67.
Phase, Old Covenant, 53.
Phamaces, Bacchus, 42.

Names

Phylacteries, 116.

Natale Solis, 49, 96.

Nebuchadnezzars vision, 59.

Philip, Gospel

Nechepsus, 74.
Neryan, 207.

Pictures, talismanic, 149.

128.

of,

Phoenix, 152, 203.

Nestorian monuments, 143.

Plague, charm against the, 130, 134.

Planetary influence, 45.

Nevritti, 21.

Pluto, 159.

Newton

in the

Stone, 176.

Nilus, signification

of, 80,

92.

Roman

Porcinum Numen,

shows, 161.
92.

Nizams diamond, 154.

Noot, 103.
Nous of the Godhead, 34.
Nous and if'ux'J?, 46.

Powers, adjurations to the, 127.

Priapean deities, 41, 92.

Number

Psychostasia, 90.

of the Beast, 79,

Numbers equivalent

in names, 80.

Priscillian, 119.

Prunicos, 32.

Pythagoras, numerals

of,

228.

Numerals, originally alphabetical characters, 151, 228.

Q.
Quaternion, Ophite, 27, 39.
Quinternion, Brahminical, 35.

Ogham-writing, on a talisman, 100.

Old Man of the Templars, 203, 213.
OM, mystical name, 84, 163.
Omphalos, Delphic, 199.
Ophites,

diagramma of

the, 22.

their system, 26, 29.

Orb of sovereignty,

72.

Orcus, symbolized, 159.

Ormuzd,

7.

R.
Raising the dead, 161.
Ravens of Mithras, 59.

Raymond

Lully, 134.

Rector terrse, 171.

Red, sacred to Serapis, 225.
Regeneration typified, 92.

Osiris, 42.

Relic-worship, 168.

Osthanes, 15.

Resignation, symbol

Ouraios, the genius, 28.

Resurrection, symbol

Righteousness, the

X1N,

Jehovah, 92.

of,

18.

Palmyrene alphabet,

of,

Sun

176.
139.
of,

49.

Rings with cabalistic inscriptions, 132

Rokh, the Arab bird, 151.
Rosy Cross, 177.

P.
Palmyra, school

of,

230.

Rosicrucians, their origin, 177.

stones, 218.

INDEX.

250

ROUND TABLE.
Round Table, the Masonic,
Rudolphus

II.

VASES.
112.

a Rosicrucian, 181.

Symbols, Egyptian, 43.

Syren, 161.

T.

S.

Sabao, Sabaoth, explained, 101.

,

how

figured, 128.

Taaut, 108.
Taf-Neith, lion-headed goddess, 99.

Sacraments, Mithraic, 51.

Talisman derived, 115.

Sacti, 176.

, ancient use of, 117.

Talismans, sepulchral, 126.

Salmasius de An. Climact., 93.

Sangraal, 187.
Sanscrit, old characters, 230.
Saturn, sons of, 46.

devouring his offspring, 129.

inspires Moses, 53, 108.
Scorpio, influence

58.

of,

conjoined with Capricorn, 220.

Scythicus, his visits to India, 17.
Seir-Ampin, symbol of the Sephiroth,

TaAa apaua 104.

Talmud, 14.
Taous of the Yezidis,
,

Tau Mysticum,

153.

135.

Teetotalism, ancient heresy, 225.

Templars, 177.
Templiers, modern Parisian, 178.
Terbinthus, 18.
Tertullian, 34, 99, 144.

Self-collection, 128.

Tetragammaton, 176.
Tetragrammaton, 135, 176, 204.

'Se/uies eiXa/x,

Thammuz,

13, 208.

76, 81.

Sephiroth, 12.

Serapeum, the, 69, 224.

Serapis, 64.

Serpent-worship, 32, 75.

Seven kings, fall of the, 14.
Seven stars explained, 62.
Severus, Alexander, 145.
Sherkun, 175.

Shesha, serpent of Esculapius, 224.

Signet of the Living God, 135.
Simon Magus, 6 images of, 109.
;

Siva,

symbol

Skeleton,

165.

of,

emblem

81, 102.

Thautabaoth, 88.
Theodoret, 32.
Theseus Ambrosius, 144.
Thoth, 41.
Thugga, Berber alphabet, 229.
Tikkun, 11.
Tiler, the Masonic, 190.
Tityi and Typhones, 46.

Tomb

treasures, 123.

robbers, 126.

Torches, Mithraic, 58.

Tortures, the twelve, 51.

of ghost, 156.

Travelling in ancient India, 25.

Soldier, Mithraic, 105.

Tree of Life, 128.

Solomons seal, 175.

Sophia, the iEon, 12.

Triangle, symbol of the Moon, 208.

Tricasa, triceps, 64.

Sortes Antiates, 102.

Soul,

how composed,

2 ovfj.apTa

Trimalchios skeleton, 157.

14, 46.

166.

Spain, Gnostics

in,

Truth, personified, 39, 42.

Tubals pillars, 106.

120.

Sri-pa, Serapis, 66, 225.

SS, the collar

of,

76.

U, V.

Stilicho, 125.

2roxj8a0a, 100.

Vacca, Flaminius, 63.

Stonehenge, Masons Mark at, 175.

Sufi, the Persian, 184.
Swaddle-cloth of Christ, 133.

Valentinus,

Syamu, Yamas dog,

Symbolum, 128.

Vase of Sins, 112.

66.

6,

38.

Varanes convokes the Magi, 20.

,

name

derived, 173.

Vases, Baphometic, 182.

INDEX.

251

UDDER-SHAPED.

z z z.

Word, true origin of the

Words, the three, 164.
World, symbol of, 105.

Udder-shaped bowl, 110.

Vehan, sacred animal, 165.

Venus Anadyomene, or Truth,

126.

Verga, a plain hoop-ring, 124.

Vesica Piscis, its origin, 72.
Vibia, fresco in her tomb, 155.
Virtues, figures o 105.
Vishnu, symbol of, 165.

Worlds, Talmudical, 13.

Umeida

Xerxes, an iconoclast,

destroys

the

Wren

institutes the

idea, 40.

Freemasons, 176.

X.

Albigenses,

9.

179.

Unity in Trinity, and the converse,

Y.

228.

Von Hammer,

Yama, origin

180.

Vowels, the seven, 74, 93.

Uterine amulet, 153.
Uterus borne by Isis, 154.

of Serapis, 66.

his titles, 166.

Yezidis, 153.

Yoni, Hindoo, 111.

W.

Z.

Warburtons Divine Legation, 51.

Water, symbol of, 175.
Wheel-cut intagli, 98.

Wisdom, the JEon, 126.

Womb of Bhavani, Medhra, 155.
Word, or Logos, 7.

Zacharias,

why

slain, 91.

Zarmanes Chagan,
Zendavesta,

25.

summary

Zeruane Akrene,

of, 7.

7.

Zoroaster, his age, 7.

Z Z Z on

bar, 74, 103.

THE END.

London

printed by william clowes and sons, Stamford street,

AND CHARING

CROSS.