The Idaho world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1864-1918, 1871-06-15

The theology of the Greeks has been neg
lected 3 good deal for the last two or three
thousand years in favor of the Hebrew. This
is certainly not in harmony with American no
tions of universal suffrage and universal rep
resentation. There is nothing so absolute
about religion that the Grecian aristocracy il
their doctrines of the government Of the uni
verse should be excluded altogether in favor
of the Hebrew autocracy or the improved
trioogy. The Greeks were more generous il
their allotment Of rulers-nearly us much S.
us the French of to-day in their formation of .
constituent assembly, which seems to be more
numerous than their army. They had a goo
for pretty much everything, and their impair
TALLY is amply attestedlby their having gods
In point of fact. Pluto frequently "came il
over" Jupiter in a way that Bill Nye would
have desplsed The Romans also found the
Greek doctrines to be good enough-or rather
bad enough-for them, and have even trans
united the names by which the extensive colo
ny of deities is known to us moderns.
Times have not changed SO very much, nor
sentiments, nor doctrines, in spite of the con
tempt with which moderns are fain to regard
the Greek religion. Those loved of the gods
still die young-very young; and those who,
as we may we'll conceive, would make disa-
greeable companions for them, are permitted
to live and bore us poor mortals. We are still
seeking for those mythical and supposititously
happy Hyperboreans, who live somewhere near
the north pole. The Philippians are as vlrtu-
pus and pleasant as they were considered to be
then; indeed much more so, for then they were,
at that time, only favored by the gods who
used to share their banquets with them, and
now they are in demand for senator's, repre-
sentatives, and frst-class places in society.
Not to be a carpet-bagger, an amalgamatOr,
and boon companion of the Ethiopian to-day,
is to lose the favor of gods and men.
The Greeks were deeper than the Hebrews
and their successors The latter were cor
tented with decreeing one deity, and left the
world in precious muddle by failing to trace
his origin The Greeks had their Jupiter, but
also provided father and mother, Saturn and
Rhea, for him, which cleared up problem
that has puzzled the world. If they did not
define very clearly where the father and mother
came from we must not be too exacting in
dealing with them. Even the German phIloso-
pliers grow toerably obscure when they pene
trate the great principle of primal causation.
More or less directly, Jupiter was response
Bile for the other gods and demgods that pco-
pied Olympus and the rest of the world. Juno
had something to do with it once in while,
but she was in no sense Indispensable. Jupiter
could find other mothers for his children, and
could even conceive and bring them forth from
his mighty brain, as in the case OF Minerva.
The brain children of modern times have not
been so powerful or successful as may be easily
demonstrated by 4 review of Springfield legis-
ton.
There is no doubt that Olympus was jolly
old place with Hebe handing around the nee
tar and Mercury bringing the latest news from
aflbrosia. Just what nectar and ambrosia
were is not so clear, different ideas of their
character having been conceived by different
people The modern Italians have thought
them to be macaroni and sour wines; the
Prussians have decided on fried liver and iccis-
bier; the Sax0ns favor sausage, with sauer
kraut and gose: the South Germans are con
WINGED that they were noodle soup and echt
bairisch; the French have thought Of snails
and red WINE, with variety of artchoke and
nougaf; the Hungarians of gouldsch and To-
kai; the Spaniards of ollapodrida and Here's;
the English of plum pudding and pork, and
the Americans of hot cakes and gin cocktails.
1t is not probable, however, that any of these
national deicacies have ever approached nee
tar and ambrosia, which may be regarded as
peculiar to the Olympian climate and the nc
lange favored by all the deities
But with all the voluptuousness of these
banquets, it is evidently unjust to form our
ideas of the goddesses' costumes by the sam
Piles which have been offered in French opera
bouffe and British burlesque. There were
dressmakers in those days headed by Minerva,
who probably controlled the fashions while the
graces ran the sewing machines. The opera
bouffe performers and British burlesquers
would evidently have us believe that there were
no dressmakers in that community, and no ma
terial from which to make dresses. Yet, with
the graces employed, we can readily infer that
it is the dressmaker of the day who has de-
and that the sO-caled Grecian bend
is but one Of the many lbels that have been
visited upon these ancient ladies'
Jupiter's household was not the most peace
full and harmonious IN the world, in spite of
the jolly banquets and gorgeous "set-outs,
which were the order of day and night. Ju-
piter evidently inherited his ideas OF high liv-
ing from his patcrnal parent, Saturn, who |
was in the habit of devouring his children un-
til, one day, an emetic was given him and he
was ouigeu W uIsSoiSe. AHc chIuIeu were
rs ungrateful as Jonah may have been when
swallowed by the whale, for no sooner had
they been vomited up than they turned against
The old man, as his stomach had turned against
them. They whipped their daddy, and Jupiter.
Neptune. and Pluto divided the world, as Col
,on did Gaul, into three parts. Jupiter showed
MS greedy disposition from the start by taking
The heavens. and claiming as absolute power
ls Kaiser Wilhelm does to-day in Germany.
He ruled over all creation except Juno, his