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mystery known solely to themselves , would demand greater respect and authority . Hence religion , united with allegory , was confined , as far as its principles were concerned ,, only to the priestly office . Oral instruction arose , and no writing was allowed ; every dogma connected with symbols was intrusted to memory , or , if a language was permitted , it was limited only to the higher orders of the priesthood , and , as in the instance of Sanskrit , was not used as a
vernacular tongue . A still greater concealment was effected by the adoption of -hieroglyphics , or sacred engravings . Vestiges of the vernacular language being disused in the religious ceremonies , may be traced at this day ; as in some districts the service of the Greek
Church is performed in the old Sclavonic , or Sarmatian , —a dialect totally obsolete , and not met with amongst the people . Tradition may probably have originated from a similar cause . Some of these Indian Gymnosophists are supposed to have emigrated , and to have established themselves in the island of Meroe , in
Ethiopia , where , as the kings of that country were solely chosen from their order , they existed during several ages . The Egyptian priests were evidently derived from these colleges of Ethiopia , and must have had one common origin , as the priests of both nations were accustomed to assemble annually on the confines of the two countries , where they offered conjointly a sacrifice to Ammon , the deity who is represented with the horns of a ram , and who was worshipped at a celebrated temple situated on an oasis of the great African desert .
These priests were divided into three classes , according to their proficiency in their religious tenets , which were of two descriptions , viz . —such as were made known to the people at large ; and secondly , such as were only communicated to a few initiated in the mysteries . As the principal mysteries , which , in course of time , were extended to many other parts of the world , seem to have been derived from the w orship of Isis , and as this is probably the source from whence those of Eleusis , of Cybele , of Bacchus , and of other heathen deities were
taken , and as they exhibit many points which may claim the attention of the Masonic body , we shall endeavour to give some idea of these tenets by an historical account of the goddess herself , and of the Egyptian divinities with whom she was connected . Isis , according to the mythology of the Egyptians , was the same person as lo , who , according to Ovid , was beloved by Jupiter , and , through the hatred of Juno , having been metamorphosed into a cow , withdrew into Egypt , where- she was restored by Jupiter to her
proper iorm . bhe then married Usiris , king ot that country , which they governed with such gentleness and wisdom , that they received divine honours . These two deities , being thus united , comprehended all nature and every heathen God . Thus Isis ( the meaning of which is said to be " ancient" ) was the Venus of Cyprus , the Minerva of Athens , the Ceres of Eleusis , the Proserpine of Sicily , the . Diana of Crete , the Bellona of lionie , the Cybele of the Phrygians , & c . & c . She was in consequence named Myriononia , " the thousand named . "
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Untitled Article
mystery known solely to themselves , would demand greater respect and authority . Hence religion , united with allegory , was confined , as far as its principles were concerned ,, only to the priestly office . Oral instruction arose , and no writing was allowed ; every dogma connected with symbols was intrusted to memory , or , if a language was permitted , it was limited only to the higher orders of the priesthood , and , as in the instance of Sanskrit , was not used as a
vernacular tongue . A still greater concealment was effected by the adoption of -hieroglyphics , or sacred engravings . Vestiges of the vernacular language being disused in the religious ceremonies , may be traced at this day ; as in some districts the service of the Greek
Church is performed in the old Sclavonic , or Sarmatian , —a dialect totally obsolete , and not met with amongst the people . Tradition may probably have originated from a similar cause . Some of these Indian Gymnosophists are supposed to have emigrated , and to have established themselves in the island of Meroe , in
Ethiopia , where , as the kings of that country were solely chosen from their order , they existed during several ages . The Egyptian priests were evidently derived from these colleges of Ethiopia , and must have had one common origin , as the priests of both nations were accustomed to assemble annually on the confines of the two countries , where they offered conjointly a sacrifice to Ammon , the deity who is represented with the horns of a ram , and who was worshipped at a celebrated temple situated on an oasis of the great African desert .
These priests were divided into three classes , according to their proficiency in their religious tenets , which were of two descriptions , viz . —such as were made known to the people at large ; and secondly , such as were only communicated to a few initiated in the mysteries . As the principal mysteries , which , in course of time , were extended to many other parts of the world , seem to have been derived from the w orship of Isis , and as this is probably the source from whence those of Eleusis , of Cybele , of Bacchus , and of other heathen deities were
taken , and as they exhibit many points which may claim the attention of the Masonic body , we shall endeavour to give some idea of these tenets by an historical account of the goddess herself , and of the Egyptian divinities with whom she was connected . Isis , according to the mythology of the Egyptians , was the same person as lo , who , according to Ovid , was beloved by Jupiter , and , through the hatred of Juno , having been metamorphosed into a cow , withdrew into Egypt , where- she was restored by Jupiter to her
proper iorm . bhe then married Usiris , king ot that country , which they governed with such gentleness and wisdom , that they received divine honours . These two deities , being thus united , comprehended all nature and every heathen God . Thus Isis ( the meaning of which is said to be " ancient" ) was the Venus of Cyprus , the Minerva of Athens , the Ceres of Eleusis , the Proserpine of Sicily , the . Diana of Crete , the Bellona of lionie , the Cybele of the Phrygians , & c . & c . She was in consequence named Myriononia , " the thousand named . "