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Article THE ANCIENT MYSTERIES.—If. (Continued f ... ← Page 6 of 8 →
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The Ancient Mysteries.—If. (Continued F ...
course of your life , to the draAvins of vour latest breath , is , from this time , "I T * —I r 11 v ' I 7 dedicated to me . ^ . hat you . shal l live ' happy , you shall ii \ e under my protection , ' ever glorious ; and . when , having / measured ( or fulfilled ) your course of time in this life , you shall descend to the shades beloAV , -there $ also , in the subterranean hemispheres , me , whom you yourself , as an inhabitant of Elysium , shall see reigning in Stygian darkness , shining in the midst of the blackness of Acheron— -me , gracious to you , shall you unceasingly adore . "
Lucius is at length confirmed in his resolution of aspiring to a life of virtue . And on this change in his disposition and entire conquest of his passions , the author finely represents all nature as putting on a new face of cheerfulness and gaiety . He says" All things appeared to me , independently of my own delight , to be rejoicing , Avith joyousness so great that I might well think that cattle of A \ hat kind soever , and entire horses , and the very day itself Avere feeling glad with bright countenance . ' I
And to enjoy nature , in these her best conditions , was the boasted privilege of the initiated , as we may see from the following lines in the " Frogs" of Aristophanes : — M . 6 vocg yap y / juv i ]\ ioc Kcu ( fiiyyoQ . Ikapov kvriv Of cot jjLEfiviiptQ * evcefifj TZ'ddjyofJLEP TpOTTOV 7 T € pl TOVQ EtvOVQ Kcu tovq Idiwrag * " For to us only Avho are initiated is the sun glad , and the light grateful ; and w e behave kindly towards strangers and citizens alike . "—Aristopli . Iiance . 454-460 . z
And noAV the procession in honour of Isis begins , in which the first two days of the Eleusinian mysteries are plainly described- —the one called ' Ayvpfxog from t he multitude assembled , the other " AXaors Mvff rai , from the procession of the mystce to the sea-shore . Then
there Avas an influx of the initiated , resplendent with pure white linen robes . Next came the images of the gods , not disdaining to walk by means of human feet , borne by priests of Isis ; one terribly raising a clog ' s head ; another , the messenger of the infernal gods , and of the inhabitants of the realms below the earth , with erect face ,
partly black , and partly golden in colour , bearing in his left hand a caduceus , and in his right hand branches of the palm-tree , upon whose footsteps folloAved a crow , with erect gait . This crow was the prolific resemblance of the great parent goddess , and was borne on the shoulders of one of the sacred servants of this deity , who , as he Avalked , acted the part of a mimic : another
carried a chest , containing the mysteries and concealing the mystic symbols of a magnificent ritual : another bore in his breast the sacred effigy ofthe Supreme Divinity which did not resemble any bird , beast , or man , but being venerable lor the skill Avith which it was invented ,
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Ancient Mysteries.—If. (Continued F ...
course of your life , to the draAvins of vour latest breath , is , from this time , "I T * —I r 11 v ' I 7 dedicated to me . ^ . hat you . shal l live ' happy , you shall ii \ e under my protection , ' ever glorious ; and . when , having / measured ( or fulfilled ) your course of time in this life , you shall descend to the shades beloAV , -there $ also , in the subterranean hemispheres , me , whom you yourself , as an inhabitant of Elysium , shall see reigning in Stygian darkness , shining in the midst of the blackness of Acheron— -me , gracious to you , shall you unceasingly adore . "
Lucius is at length confirmed in his resolution of aspiring to a life of virtue . And on this change in his disposition and entire conquest of his passions , the author finely represents all nature as putting on a new face of cheerfulness and gaiety . He says" All things appeared to me , independently of my own delight , to be rejoicing , Avith joyousness so great that I might well think that cattle of A \ hat kind soever , and entire horses , and the very day itself Avere feeling glad with bright countenance . ' I
And to enjoy nature , in these her best conditions , was the boasted privilege of the initiated , as we may see from the following lines in the " Frogs" of Aristophanes : — M . 6 vocg yap y / juv i ]\ ioc Kcu ( fiiyyoQ . Ikapov kvriv Of cot jjLEfiviiptQ * evcefifj TZ'ddjyofJLEP TpOTTOV 7 T € pl TOVQ EtvOVQ Kcu tovq Idiwrag * " For to us only Avho are initiated is the sun glad , and the light grateful ; and w e behave kindly towards strangers and citizens alike . "—Aristopli . Iiance . 454-460 . z
And noAV the procession in honour of Isis begins , in which the first two days of the Eleusinian mysteries are plainly described- —the one called ' Ayvpfxog from t he multitude assembled , the other " AXaors Mvff rai , from the procession of the mystce to the sea-shore . Then
there Avas an influx of the initiated , resplendent with pure white linen robes . Next came the images of the gods , not disdaining to walk by means of human feet , borne by priests of Isis ; one terribly raising a clog ' s head ; another , the messenger of the infernal gods , and of the inhabitants of the realms below the earth , with erect face ,
partly black , and partly golden in colour , bearing in his left hand a caduceus , and in his right hand branches of the palm-tree , upon whose footsteps folloAved a crow , with erect gait . This crow was the prolific resemblance of the great parent goddess , and was borne on the shoulders of one of the sacred servants of this deity , who , as he Avalked , acted the part of a mimic : another
carried a chest , containing the mysteries and concealing the mystic symbols of a magnificent ritual : another bore in his breast the sacred effigy ofthe Supreme Divinity which did not resemble any bird , beast , or man , but being venerable lor the skill Avith which it was invented ,