The Sun.
London, England, 1853-07-07 00:00:00

" General total

" Buenos Ayres, April 26.

.ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY.

At the meeting of this society on Saturday, the 2d
nstant—Lord Ashburton, president, in the chair—
The SECRETARY read a paper, by E. C. Ravenshaw,
Esq., on the winged bulls, lions, and other symbolical
figures from Nineveh. The mysterious figures from
Nineveh, which have been lately arranged in the new
hall of the British Museum, have excited much curiosity
as to their meaning. A cursory examination is sufficient
to satisfy the observer that they are not mere architectu-
ral ornaments, but symbols of certain mysteries and cere-
monies of the primeval religion of Assyria. The era of these
sculptures is so remoterand the traditions respecting them
so obscure, that the inquiry into their signification must
be difficult, and the conclusions arrived at unsatisfactory;
still it is desirable that some attempt should be made to
penetrate the mystery which surrounds them, and to in-
vite the attention of the learned to the investigation.
The chief mythological figures are the winged bull with a
man's face, the winged lion with a man's face, the winged
man with a fir cone in one hand and a square basket or
vessel in the other, and a man with the head and wings
of an eagle or hawk. The hypothesis which the writer
maintains with respect to them is, that they are, as
already surmised by Mr. Layard, the originals of the
cherubim of Ezekiel ; that they were likewise the origi-
nals of the apocalyptic beasts of St. John ; and that,
slightly modified, they were afterwards adopted, and are
now used, as the symbols of the Four Evangelists.
Further, that they were originally invented by the Magi
and Chaldeans as astronomical symbols of the equinoc-
tial and solstitial points ; that they represent in fact the
four seasons—spring, summer, autumn, and winter ;
and perhaps also the four winds and the four elements.
In support and illustration of these views, the writer
enters into an examination of the passages in the Old
Testament and in other writings, regarding the cherubim,
showing that there is no authority in Scripture for sup-
posing them to be bodiless infants, and comes to the con-
clusion that the face of a cherub was in reality the face of a
bull. At an early period of the Christian Church these
winged animals were adopted as the symbols of the Four
Evangelists. The winged lion was assigned to St.
Mark, as the symbol of strength ; the winged ox to St.
Luke, as the symbol of sacrifice ; the eagle and chalice
to St. John, as the symbol of contemplation; and the
winged man with a cup and hatchet to St. Matthew, as
the symbol of power. The employment of these figures
as astronomical symbols formed the next branch of in-
quiry, and the conclusions were that the colossal bulls
are symbols of the sun in Taurus, or the vernal equinox;
that the winged man is Mitra or Serosh, the guardian
of the autumnal equinox ; and the winged man-lion and
the eagle-headed man the symbols of the solstices, being
the four cherubim who watched the gates of Heaven, and
upheld the zodiac. As regardsthe other mythological figures
it is probable that the man with a goat in his arms repre-
sents the constellation Capricorn, and the newly-discovered
fish-god, that of Pisces. All the names of the gods found
in the Nineveh inscriptions will probably, on further in-
quiry, prove to be the names of constellations, stars, or
planets, chosen as the guardian angels of nations, kings,
or individuals. The mystic tree, which forms so con-
spicuous an object in the sculptures, has evidently some
astronomical signification. The number of its rosettes
or leaves vary considerably, but never exceed 30; and the
winged circle, or the new moon and some stars, are gene-
rally seen above it. Hence it seems probable that these
trees were orreries showing the month, day, or season,
which is being celebrated by the winged figures or priests
who are represented in connection with them. The
winged circles or eyes, which are frequently placed above
the sacred tree, and seem to form the principal object
of adoration, so closely resemble the Winged globes on
the portals of the Egyptian temples, that it is difficult
to disbelieve the identity of their origin. At first they
were probably typical of time, but came afterwards to
be looked upon as the symbols of Ormazd, the active
creator and source of all good. These speculations may
appear more curious than profitable ; still it cannot be
uninteresting to inquire what were the ideas of men
3,000 years, when the earth was comparatively young ;
to learn what mere the traditions or Asia as to the origin
and destiny of the human race, and what notions were
then entertained as to the Creator and Governor of the
universe.
This was the last meeting of the session,

AUSTRALIAN NABol3B.—Among the passengers who
came home in the Indus, which landed the Indian mail
at Southampton on T.uesday,, were 19 AuStralian
€Mgraiits, most of whom were from Melbourne.
They wore white calico hats, and their hale, hearty, and
John Bull appearance formed a striking contrast to that
of the Indian passengers. The salubrity of the climate
from which they had come was manifested throughout
the voyage in the range and power of their organs of di-
gestion. They had all made rapid and large fortunes.