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Article ¦ .. «¦¦' THE ANCIENT M:tS:TElIlS. ¦ ' ← Page 3 of 7 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
¦ .. «¦¦' The Ancient M:Ts:Telils. ¦ '
swiftness . He had to pass this canal either by swimming or by the help of one of two balustrades which were placed across the water ,, and which served to guide him , being at the same time obliged carefully to keep his lamp from going out . TJhis w as the test by water .
Arrived at the other side of this canal , the candidate , who had been obliged to strip in order to cross this torrent , and to convey across his clothes as best he could , resumed his dress , and found himself at the foot of a staircase , which conducted him to a drawbridge , which concealed a most complicated piece of mechanism . At the end of this bridge , the sides of which consisted of two walls of
brass , was an ivory door furnished with two gold handles , which showed that the door opened inwards . This obliged the candidate to push it , in order to obtain an entrance ; but after haying tried in vain to enter by this means , he seized two large rings which he perceived , by the light of his lamp , to be fixed into the upper part of the door . This put the machinery in motion , for scarcely had the aspirant touched the rings , when a spring acted on the wheels which raised
the drawbridge , which making several rapid revolutions , lifted it with the ' candidate into theair , who thus found himself suspended at some distance from the bridge , and saw yawning below him a foarftil ' and dark chasm , from which came a violent gust of wind which extinguislied his lamp . - After . remaining ' about . a minute in this cruel position , he was gradually lowered again to the floor of the bridge by a counterpoise which let him gently down again , and placed him before the ivory door which now stood open before him . This was the test by
air . Being now at the end of his dangers , he was addressed by one of the hierophants , whom he now for the first time saw , in the following terms : —¦ . " Candidate for the mysteries , you are now about to undergo your last test , after which you will be entitled to a participation of the arcana of the
great goddess Isis . Shall you preserve the same courage which you have hitherto exhibited ? Many novices fail at this point , and it will not surprise me if your firmness also gives way . You are now , if you please , at liberty to recede , and to divulge , if you dare to do so , all you have seen , heard , and undergone . Take care ] lest your hardihood hurry you into dangers which you will not be able to escape . "
The oath of secrecy , so binding , as shown by Herodotus , is then administered , after which the candidate is conducted ( now no longer left to his own guidance ) , into the adytum of the temple of Isis , Osiris , and Horns , the three great divinities of Memphis and indeed of all Egypt . The gold which glittered on all sides , and the
brilliant light of numberless crystal lamps dazzled him the more from the circumstance of his long journey through the gloomy vault in which he had undergone his former " trials . The hierophants , clothed in long robes of fine linen , were ranged in two long lines , between which the candidate advanced towards the throne . The
presiding minister received him with every mark of esteem and friendship , and congratulated him on the courage he had shown ; 3 l 2
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
¦ .. «¦¦' The Ancient M:Ts:Telils. ¦ '
swiftness . He had to pass this canal either by swimming or by the help of one of two balustrades which were placed across the water ,, and which served to guide him , being at the same time obliged carefully to keep his lamp from going out . TJhis w as the test by water .
Arrived at the other side of this canal , the candidate , who had been obliged to strip in order to cross this torrent , and to convey across his clothes as best he could , resumed his dress , and found himself at the foot of a staircase , which conducted him to a drawbridge , which concealed a most complicated piece of mechanism . At the end of this bridge , the sides of which consisted of two walls of
brass , was an ivory door furnished with two gold handles , which showed that the door opened inwards . This obliged the candidate to push it , in order to obtain an entrance ; but after haying tried in vain to enter by this means , he seized two large rings which he perceived , by the light of his lamp , to be fixed into the upper part of the door . This put the machinery in motion , for scarcely had the aspirant touched the rings , when a spring acted on the wheels which raised
the drawbridge , which making several rapid revolutions , lifted it with the ' candidate into theair , who thus found himself suspended at some distance from the bridge , and saw yawning below him a foarftil ' and dark chasm , from which came a violent gust of wind which extinguislied his lamp . - After . remaining ' about . a minute in this cruel position , he was gradually lowered again to the floor of the bridge by a counterpoise which let him gently down again , and placed him before the ivory door which now stood open before him . This was the test by
air . Being now at the end of his dangers , he was addressed by one of the hierophants , whom he now for the first time saw , in the following terms : —¦ . " Candidate for the mysteries , you are now about to undergo your last test , after which you will be entitled to a participation of the arcana of the
great goddess Isis . Shall you preserve the same courage which you have hitherto exhibited ? Many novices fail at this point , and it will not surprise me if your firmness also gives way . You are now , if you please , at liberty to recede , and to divulge , if you dare to do so , all you have seen , heard , and undergone . Take care ] lest your hardihood hurry you into dangers which you will not be able to escape . "
The oath of secrecy , so binding , as shown by Herodotus , is then administered , after which the candidate is conducted ( now no longer left to his own guidance ) , into the adytum of the temple of Isis , Osiris , and Horns , the three great divinities of Memphis and indeed of all Egypt . The gold which glittered on all sides , and the
brilliant light of numberless crystal lamps dazzled him the more from the circumstance of his long journey through the gloomy vault in which he had undergone his former " trials . The hierophants , clothed in long robes of fine linen , were ranged in two long lines , between which the candidate advanced towards the throne . The
presiding minister received him with every mark of esteem and friendship , and congratulated him on the courage he had shown ; 3 l 2