, 1870-05-29

ses' nnpRsonating the earth, and juno. h,s sts
'es ana wife, who impessonAted fertility md
1epfodncfion, End presidsd over child bearing.
nea u Neptune, who impo1sonated tbs saa,
~na i'uto'"no 1mpessonated the depths Of the
eaftn. ware ~ immortal Children Of Saturn.
t!ame} sad Ahea (doEing) We see expressed
tho Creek beNef that xhilo the prozros, Of
1fme had produced these creations. It couid
not destroy them. These vepe immortal.
These hardy sons had rebelied ae,inst and
conquered their progenitor, and would live and
reign over him forever. As to these, Tms was
dethroned and placed in chains. All hia other
oaspfin8 ho consumed daily; thase defiod his
power. Vulcan Fire) il hurled by Joya from
mount olympus, and falls upon that spot in
G1eeee which xs devoted to the forging Of
metallic shielqs and weapons, breaking his lss
m the fsN Tbs deacent Of fro from o]Fm-
pus, around whoeo lofty peak hunde1s rolled
and Lightning played, w4s tho Greek mode Of
accounting for the existence OF fro among
them, thing which 80 long prior to friction
matches needed explanation He was bl,ct-
smith or ar1nor-forger because the fusing Of
neta Was tho most mysterious uso Of are
With which they wars acquainted, and be had
broken hia leg, because In that dsy al vho1e
and sound men wore Warriors, and only The
Gtpplea could houo1zbly be workers. 4e vas
beloved Of Venus in spite at hin ugiiness. b.
cause lore is morp attracted by ar1or or fire
than by coneainese- That Venus rose without
parontaRe from the foam of the sea, il 4
dgnratve mode Of expressing the fact that
female loyeliness springs from the bath, or
beauty is in proportion to cleanliness.
The lde& that wisdom vas god wss Of
Egyptian origin. The Greeks would hays held
Il an Attribute. But no sooner is the EgyptiAn
deity, htsh, made known to them than thew
Hellenize the name into A0ena (alinerva), the
goddess who sprang fu1l armed from the head
OF Jore, and presided over the arts Of peace, of
WI, and Of diplomacy.
We might follow those poetic signiacances
through the legends Of polio Of Pluto. and
P1oscrpine, and OF the minor mvtboloov
much Of which had moro shadogy eienia.
cameo. The slegory OF Proserpine {Gr. Per-
sepnone), carried away from her mother,
Cefes, by her husband, Pluto, and the sub
sequent compromise between Cares and Pluto.
BY which Prose1pino WIS to remain half The
year With her mother, Ceres, and tho remain
der with her husband, the King OF An
Under Ground, Is + very pretty A.
leeoEy a1ustrst;ng termination. Perse-
phone signifies se1f-dest1oyine snd
the seed, which, being planted.
persahes (deecands to tho x,ms Of pluto> in
giving growth TO tho hlAda. But, after few
months, 1t reappea1B again On the sta1t. in the
saf OF oorn, over which Ceree preaides. which
l1oserpine's return to her mother. Itv.a
n connection With the mysteries Of vegetable
termination that the Eleuainiau rnyHte,iea
Fefe specially celebrated, as it was upop the
Mysteries OF animal reproduction that the
sfodser and mora sensual mysteries Of Isis
md Osiris, Of Egypt, were founded, whose
:1tea we're denounced for their seusu.
llity by the more northern rsces. and.
Tere wholly forbidden 1T Rome. The
a5sse17eA Of Eleusis, OF moro properly of |
tres, seem to hare inferred tho irnnortaIity
i the soul from this little myth Of the death 4
u the seed-corn, and its reappeArsnce in the !
uli-Grown plant. From this stastine-point /
the Immortality Of the soul), those who cele-
rated these mysteries advanced logically to |
no anterence Of future state OF rewards and
the necessity Of divine forgive
esa, and, finally, Of the unity Of God. 4 sin1ess
hid Was pointed to as the emblem OF the
'ur1ty to which the soul must come be{one II !
an eee God. The fres that torment the
Kicked, and the joys that reward the righteous.
,efe pictured in manner not wholly unlika /
ee popnar conception which was introduced /
e e, lind the germ Of Hebrew nonotbeism.
lhed with the Christian doctrine Of rewards |
nd punishment, truths which, then IMPAIRED
ectetiy TO few, have eince expanded ipto n |
ire Which has converted all other portions
the d1eek faith into maze Of myths.