New-York tribune., 1870-05-27
GREEK RELIGION.
JouN WEISS ON TIB OLD MYTHS-A KEY Io
SOME ANCIENT RIDDLES.

Rosroy. May.-Among the Spring events
suc things as we call events in Boston, where we nave
no criminal lawyers who whet their blades at random on
deepseess women trial scenes which read ike pasoS
from n romance of the Ainsworth school, no Bowery
roughs or Tammany politics. and, alas for it, no Central
| Park though we are consoled by miles on miles OF
| suburbs which arc all parks course OF lee
tures by the Rev. John Weiss on "Greek Religion"
They arc to be delivered on Tuesday and FRIDAY
afternoons the quiet parors at No l3 Chestnntst
so known as the OF long series OF Radical
Clubs There is something quaint In this eisurey ses-
sion of a Nineteenth Century audicnce-women clad In
fashions OF which no Greek ever wild enough to
dream with chignons which would stir a marble Venus
frenzy of divine wrath and 1ounces and furbelows
from which Juno and Minerva would turn away in holy
horror folding their classic robes about them and retreat
to Olympus; and in regulation coats onglng WIN
affectonae tenacity to shiny, seepecrowned has-to
90 back the glory that Greece as thcy st III teso
quiet shaded rooms, among flowers. the only lovely
things which have changed their fashion as the
| slow centuries went on.
| Though you may not have time .and space to follow
these lectures by one their beginning Is certainly
noteworthy, and since in his opening paper Mr Weiss
(whose name is only the German word for wise spelt
badly unrddled OF the old riddles of the world,
will venture to help you to a few hints from his store to
aid your further gucsscs at the meaning OF mythology,
! Mr. Weiss believes with all his heart and all bis MIND
which to the purpose in the theory OF gradual
development and he thinks accordingly that every sue
cessive stage Of egious belief among the nations has
been necessary that should DO children DciOre
| we can be men and women.
II there had been perfect revelation made at first to
mankind and lost in one full crisis, so that religion
| could mean restoration, mean the winning back OF
something possessed, then, surely, In all minus
| would be traces Of this divine something. The
very savage should surprise us with reminis
cences of paradisacal state, disconnected ntuitions
| yping NJ bri through
| material. We should ask him. as Cortez did his
Mexicans where he got his gold and pearls, and
his soul would yearn Edenward as Mexican and aytan
pointed westward. But the truth is far otherwise. The
savage has gittering fragments Of the original spoil
among his savagery, tns OF the first morning blush
| through his warpant He must be educated into some
thing than savage before he Is capable OF any
religion beyond Fetchism and the marks for u.s.
nearly the state OF the world can do It, the
first step the Spirit made toward making of man re
gous being. Fetichism-or the belief that natural OBJ
jects, tree, river bowlder are capable OF inteli-
gent action, of blessing cursngis the lowest form OF
that Panthesm that saturates all nature with soul
There is Obway Indian at the bottom OF every mind
which clngs TO Fctichism nstnctvely that you shah
! find highly cultivated people who endow mahogany
table with Spirit and soemnly ask it for message.
Fetichism prevails until all nature appears to man vivi
fable: then it passes into Panthesm The lowest stage
of Panthem imagnes that the world is animal and
that the planets animals then the mind begins to
make faint distinction between planet and its actions,
and the idea OF separate deity to each conspicuous
heavenly body leads to and star-w0rship.
The usual impressions concerning the Greek mythology
have derived from the liberalism OF the stories told
In classical dictionaries, the old fronspeces Of
mythoog reatises which used to represent the COM
pany gods and goddesses sitting upon the top Of hill
in the style Of modern picnc-perhaps OF rather dis
reputable pic mic OF the days Of Louis and Madame Du
Barry-highy susceptible to nectar though seasoned to
their cups by Immortality The modern Protestant would
undertake to clean out Olympus with the State Con-
stable. But really unphilosophca as to sup
pose that lively ingenious endowed with great
religosity and much swayed by sincere desires
any people who have every lived. should have fed
gully hundreds Of years the empty husks OF those
old stories, have taken them IN modern sensesi The
Greek stories took their shape slowly and submitted to
different local coorngs and stages Of intelligence. But
their original impulse in the and questioning OF
man presence OF nature and OF himself Every ele
ment that blessed tortured him. the light dark
the mountain regions raversed by dim valleys full OF
shudderng trees, the that encOmpassed the penin
sua and ran up innumerabe inets, smiling threaten
Ing the golden fleece of morning and evening the spasm
OF the earthquake the vapor OF the groo all the hints
OF volcanic agencythese flowed into personication
the scientific ntellge not yet awake and
when man first asks what is the cause Of thing, he
naturally answers by saying it Is person. Titanic gi-
| gantic, symmetrical heroic
There accounting for the caprces and commissions
OF nature by the rough and often nmca sports OF
the Ttans, until system Of separate gods with order
their head undertakes the repression Of nature 40 az
to make 1t ready for mankind Then Ia the world divided
into sea, earth and ether but the ether rules Now are
the Titanic weapons distributed for bonecent uses and
have the bolt Of Zeus the fire Of Vulcan sunheat
of Apollo the ether Of Junothe provocative ecstacy OF
nature appeared in Venus and the grape Bacchus does
not express wine except secondary symbol but ii is
the budding OF all fields woods and vnes return of
| Iata sfI1
| appears the common OF ordinary mind and
nature, sprngng fuarmed from the forehead OF over
ruling intelligence. great deal Of mythology grew out
the overcoming and dismay at tho dsap
pearance; the love and longing for Summer days and
sunshine When the sun descended to its Winter solstce
there was annual lamentaton The approach OF Winter
was the ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF Osirisit tho death of
Adons-it cOuched In various forms OF mournful
story. The return OF the to the yerna equinox be
came festival of joy-the members of Osiris were col
lected and put together again. Proserpine lived SIX
months below and six months above
Provided with tho simple key OF mans original IA.
tonhent at the aspects of nature and vital interest in
them, you can interpret great deal OF this portion OF
mythology Let apply this principle OF Interpretation
to the myth OF Latona, who called the mother OF
Apollo Bear In mind the old Greek rapture for the day
light which filled his unrvaled horizon with the sofest
and serenest ses their bloom greatest at the re-
turn of the sun to recomncnce the work Of Spring In
the way OF anything desirable ID was natural 10
Imagine all sorts OF difficulties and dangers. Therefore
the birth OF Apollo painful and long delayed by tho
jealousy OF juno the atmosphere Iatona wanders long
10 find place where her ilustrous burden may be laid
From dread OF offending Juno, place will harbor her.
and she Is chased from spot TO another until at
length on the island OF Delos-a word that means mani
tesation repeldt0,-the birth takes place the other
sympathizlDg g0ddesses having Outwted their queen
The lowering atmosphere longer restrain the out
burst OF the golden blessing
The word Latona Is the same Ieda, and IL simply
~ fha ngu pcuIax