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Article THE ANCIENT MYSTERIES ← Page 2 of 11 →
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The Ancient Mysteries
idem deus erat cum ; Mlo verum ipsa nomina Nili et Osiridis sunt synonyma . " But of all the forms under which Osiris was worshipped , the sun was unquestionably his grandest emblem , his most sacred
personification , for , says an ancient writer , " Sit Osiris ^ sit Omphis , Nilus , Siris , sive quodcunque aliud ab Hierophantis usurpatum nomen , ad unuin tandem Solem , antiquissimum gentium nuuien , redeunt omnia . ' t
Osiris and Isis had a son named Horns , of whom we shall have occasion to speak presently . Less of the worship pf Isis seems to be known than of even that of Osiris . The idea of her being identical with the moon is held by some and denied by others ; and by those who deny it the following inscription on the front of her Temple at Saisis adduced to support their argument
:---* i < ng eyw a / ii trdv to yeyo ^ oe , ieai ov icall evofizvov , Kal top s / xov ttsttXov evdelg tojv Ovi ] - riov a 7 T £ - K &\ v-. IpEV <
1 , Isis , am all that has been , that is , or shall be , and no mortal hath ever me unveiled .
None of this inscription they say can , by any possibilit y ^ be applied to the moon , and therefore Isis is not the moon . Plutarch says that Osiris and Isis of Egypt were the prototypes of the Bacchus and Ceres of the Greeks and Romans , To return , however , from these speculations , which are after all of
but slight importance , to the subject of the worship of Osiris and Isis : these mere outward symbols , gross and sensual as many of them were , were the portion of the religion of Egypt which was left by the Cabaliststo tho people ; while the learned and initiated pretended that they could pierce through these objects , and aspire to a more
secret and spiritual knowledge and contemplation of the deity . What hideous darkness , says a writer on ancient Egypt , must have involved the Egyptian religion , which was known only by ambiguous signs ! It was impossible but that their ministers must vary in the application of those signs , and in a long tract of time forget what the ancients meant by them . And thus , doubtless , every one made
his own conjectures ; and the priests , taking advantage ot the obscurity of the signs and of the ignorance of the people , made the best of their own learning and fancies , and imposed upon the credulity of the people to any extent they pleased . Hence necessarily followed two consequences , —one , that the form of religion often changed ; the other , that the Cabalists were in great esteem , because necessary men .
'' Osiris certainly was not only the same god with tlio Nile , but the very namefl of Nilus and Gains are synonymous . T Let his title be Osiris , Omphis , Nilus , Siris , or whatever other name is used by tho JiieropJumts , all at length are merged in that of the Sun , the most ancient deity of the nations .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Ancient Mysteries
idem deus erat cum ; Mlo verum ipsa nomina Nili et Osiridis sunt synonyma . " But of all the forms under which Osiris was worshipped , the sun was unquestionably his grandest emblem , his most sacred
personification , for , says an ancient writer , " Sit Osiris ^ sit Omphis , Nilus , Siris , sive quodcunque aliud ab Hierophantis usurpatum nomen , ad unuin tandem Solem , antiquissimum gentium nuuien , redeunt omnia . ' t
Osiris and Isis had a son named Horns , of whom we shall have occasion to speak presently . Less of the worship pf Isis seems to be known than of even that of Osiris . The idea of her being identical with the moon is held by some and denied by others ; and by those who deny it the following inscription on the front of her Temple at Saisis adduced to support their argument
:---* i < ng eyw a / ii trdv to yeyo ^ oe , ieai ov icall evofizvov , Kal top s / xov ttsttXov evdelg tojv Ovi ] - riov a 7 T £ - K &\ v-. IpEV <
1 , Isis , am all that has been , that is , or shall be , and no mortal hath ever me unveiled .
None of this inscription they say can , by any possibilit y ^ be applied to the moon , and therefore Isis is not the moon . Plutarch says that Osiris and Isis of Egypt were the prototypes of the Bacchus and Ceres of the Greeks and Romans , To return , however , from these speculations , which are after all of
but slight importance , to the subject of the worship of Osiris and Isis : these mere outward symbols , gross and sensual as many of them were , were the portion of the religion of Egypt which was left by the Cabaliststo tho people ; while the learned and initiated pretended that they could pierce through these objects , and aspire to a more
secret and spiritual knowledge and contemplation of the deity . What hideous darkness , says a writer on ancient Egypt , must have involved the Egyptian religion , which was known only by ambiguous signs ! It was impossible but that their ministers must vary in the application of those signs , and in a long tract of time forget what the ancients meant by them . And thus , doubtless , every one made
his own conjectures ; and the priests , taking advantage ot the obscurity of the signs and of the ignorance of the people , made the best of their own learning and fancies , and imposed upon the credulity of the people to any extent they pleased . Hence necessarily followed two consequences , —one , that the form of religion often changed ; the other , that the Cabalists were in great esteem , because necessary men .
'' Osiris certainly was not only the same god with tlio Nile , but the very namefl of Nilus and Gains are synonymous . T Let his title be Osiris , Omphis , Nilus , Siris , or whatever other name is used by tho JiieropJumts , all at length are merged in that of the Sun , the most ancient deity of the nations .