The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1883-02-18
SOME NEW BOOKS.
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attTnctlNe form, ~ CIiereu uS unuer tHe manu-
1of The Religions Of he Ancient World. by
GEORGE RwIISsoy tScribnersh Except with
In tho special province Of Persian and Chal-
dean research the author would lay no claim
to the credit and the conluests Of independ-
ont study but in other branches Of the wide
subject he essays to treat he has had recourse
to high authorities to whom we observe that
no frankly acknowledges his Indebtedness.
both In the preface and in the body Of the
work. It may. indeed. DO thought In GER
tain cases that no might have profit
ably enlarged the circle Of his reading
Thus. In tho chapter on the Egyptian
religion Prof. Rawinson relies almost exclu-
sively on Wilkinson and Birch. and gives no
hint OF acquaintance with the German. French
and English archTologists who during the last
few years have shed fresh light on many i'm
portant questions connected with the theme
Nor docs no seem to have consulted in pre-
pairing the chapter on the 1ranian religion the
valuable contributions to our means Of cstH
mating the Zend- Avcsta presented in the series
Of sacred books Of tho East edited by Max
Muller. But. AS we have intimated. this book
Is not intended for the student. and should not
be criticised from a scientific point. 1t Is n
well-timed and meritorous attempt to pop
ularize the main results Of modern investiga-
ton In tho field OF comparative religion and
mythology.
or how much utility this manual will prove
to many persons who have neither the leisure
nor the inclination to examine the larger
treatises which record the results OF original
inquiry. may be attested by glance Mt the au-
thor's account OF the form which religion as
sumed with that mysterious people. the Etru-
rians. We select by way Of illustration this
portion OF the book because even the meagro
discoveries OF scholars In the domain Of Etrus-
can archaeology are little known-much less
known, Mt all events than the fruits OF investi-
cation in any other important part OF tho an
Client world. Before. however. noting what
Prof. Rawlnson and the authority on whom
no" chiefly depends-Denniss Cities and
Cemeteries OF Etruria "-have to say about
the religion OF the ancient Tuscans. 1t may
DO well to call to mind one or two gem
eral facts relating to this remarkable people,
In the first place the Etrurians Tor Rasena. rs
they called themselves unlike the Latins and
the Oscans were not members OF the Aryan
family. Neither can they be regarded as in
digenous In Italy. for we cannot reconcile their
high civilization with the theory that they were
u survival OF the relatively low type OF man
which existed In Europe before the Aryan
emigration. Whence came they. them The
ancients had two accounts Of their origin
neither OF which has been definitely accepted
by modern scholars. According to one story
people alien to other Italian tribes had entered
Italy from the coast having sailed from LYDIA
which in historical times was occupied
by a Semitic race. The other account
made he Rasena akin to the RhWtians
who mt the beginning OF the Christian
era held the passes Of what are now the Girl
sons and the Tyrol. 1t is matter OF history that
tho Rasena once occupied the plain OF the Pc
around Mantua. and the inference would be that
they had not entered Italy by sea. but had
crossed the Alps before they crossed the Apen-
mines. The ancicnts. however. held that the
Rasena settlements in what is now called Tus-
cany were more ancient. as they were unuues-
tionably more important. than their settle
ments on the Pc. Whatever their origin. the
Etrurans appear in legend as the conquerors
and probable co-foundcrs OF Rome. and in his
tory rs the rivals of Carthage and the Greek
colonies in the western sea, and as the contin-
uators Of certain archaic forms Of Greek art.
We should know more about the origin as
well the religion of the Etrurians IL their
language were not still one of the great I'M
solved problems OF archaeology. The Etrurian
civilization Is quite copiously illustrated by
monuments and other works OF art found in
the country. and these productions of native
artists give MS in some respects considerable
insight into the character of the people.
But we miss yet the clearer light
which ii would b0 thought might be
thrown upon it by the Etruscan inscriptions.
partly because these are almost all OF single
type. being short legends upon tombs. and
partly because they have hitherto dcned all
efforts to decpher them When, therefore, Mr..
Rawlinson seeks to ascertain the views Of the
ancient Tuscans tor Tyrrhenians. ms the Greeks
called them. he is forced to rely mainly on the
reports OF foreigner, who looked upon tho
La, a
wrote Mt n time when the Etrurians had long
ceased to be an independent nation. and when
the people. having been subjected for centu-
ries to foreign influences. had doubtless in
some important respects modified their re-
hgious doctrines and ceremonas.
Whatever 1t was, their religion indsputabiy
occupied controlling position in tho thoughts
and feelings Of the Etruscan nation. On this
point all tho ancient writer's who drew their
knowledge from observation are agreed. While
famous in the early Mediterranean world for
their art their commerce, and their warlikc
qualities, the Etrurans We're. above all else
celebrated for their devotion to thciI religion
and for the zeal and scrupulous care with
which they practised the various observances
OF its rites ard ceremonies. The objects Of
worship were twofod including deities proper
and tho LareS. or the ancestral spirits OF
each family We need not dwell on the
attempts to identify tho Etrurian dol
ties with the gods Of Rome and Greece
both because the coscness Of resemblance
cannot be determined until tho language has
boon deciphcred and because in Ftruria as in
China. the worship Of ancestors played much
the larger role in the national religion. To
the Etrurian the tomb was Of more importance
than the templc. Not only had each house its
larari,um or holy chamber, where the master of
IN.
and sacrifice occasionally to his progentors.
but each family had its tomb, constructed ex-
actly on the model of house In which the
spirits OF its ancestors were regarded as resid-
Ing. From an outer vestibuc. used ap-
parently for the annual feast. az passage
led to largo central chamber lighted
by windows cut in the rock. From this
central hall opened smaller chambers. In
which were laid the corpses. surrounded with
all the implements. utensils. and ornaments
used in life. 1t is noteworthy that the touches