The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1913-03-22
Before the Christian Era.

lDNN~~AS 0@~A
dent"
Before the Christian Era.
Let us turn to the Egyptians. Plu-
tarch, the pagan Greek author informs
us that, according to the religious
doctrines of the Egyptians, Typhan,
the wicked god, under the appearance
of a serpent, and out of envy and
hatred, created great havoc, caused
terrible confusion everywhere and
filled the earth and sea with misery.
Isis, a woman, took revenge on him
and put an end to his rage and fury.
! Are we not reminded here of the
words II shall put enmity between
thee and the woman :. she
shall crush thy head"
! Of the Messianic legends among
the Greeks l shall mention only the
legend of Prometheus.
Prometheus, according to their ira
dition, was the first man. He stole
fire from heaven and in punishment
he was chained by the gods to rock
where an eagle preyed daily on his
ever growing liver. He will be deliv-
cred, so says the legend, by son
who is begotten by the supreme god
Zeus from the seed of a woman and
who shall be mightier than Zeus him.
SELF
The Greek poet, Aeschylus ex-
presses this most beautifully in the
words of Mercury, the gods messen-
ger to enslaved humanity.
ITO the torment expect no limit, till
A god appears, representative of thy
misery.
Ready Of thy sake, to descend to
Hades (nether world)
Sunless realm, and to Tartarus' (helD
| dark abyss"
We now turn to the expectation of
the pagan Germans. They named the
future Messias, Vidar. He is the son
of Odin, the supreme god, and of
giantess. He will arise towards the
end of time, he will set his foot upon
wicked Daemon's head and neck and
STAY him. Afterwards, Odin and the
old gods having persisted, Vidar will
re-establish the golden age.
Summing up the total of the re-
ligious legends of mankind before the
Christian era, | say: that paganism,
in the old as well as in the new
world, chung to the expectation and
prophecy that, after long period of
time, the age of sin and misery was
to cease and that mighty hero de.
scended from heaven and begotten
from the seed of woman would de,
stroy evil and prepare the way for a
happier existence.
Belief In Speedy FuIfiIment of
Prophecies.
This hope was more especially rife
at the very time, that Jesus of Naza.
reth appeared on earth.
In Rome, the so-called Sibylline
prophecies announced the coming of a
great king, the son of God and of a
virgin. The Roman poet, Virgil, sang
of this virgin and of this son who was
to usher in the golden era. He uttered
the prophetic words: The serpent
shall die"
Suetonius I'd. about 140 A. d. a
pagan historian wrote in the first cen.
fury, when Christianity was little
known in the world: Throughout
the East there is spread the old con.
viction that fate decreed that some
individuals of Judea would arise and
make themselves masters of the
world"
And prior to Suetonius, Tacitus ID
III A. d., the great Roman historian
made similar statement: The ma
jority nurses the conviction that it is
written in the old books of the priests
that, precisely at this time, the East
would become mighty and that men
of Judea would usurp the dominion OF
the world
The gospel narrative of the Wise
mems coming from the East agrees
with this expectation of the Orient;
all the ancient nations inhabiting that
portion of the globe; the Persians, the
Babylonians, the Indians, were looking
to the heavens for phenomenon. the
sign of the coming of the Savior Of
the world, the token of the dawn oil
better days.
The expectation among the nations
of a universal Savior is, therefore, as
old as the human race itself; it is q
fact confirmed by the religious doc
trines of all peoples and is attesteG
to by their poets and philosophers
It is a fact moreover that even infidels
are obliged to admit.
The great French scholar but unbe
lieved Volney I'd. 1920, writes: 1.-THE
holy traditions and religious legends
of the remotest antiquity spread the
belief in Asia that great mediator
was to arise, Judge at the end O
the world, Savior to come, a king
a god both conqueror and legislator
who was to restore to earth the
golden age and to free mankind from
the dominion of evil"
All Realized in Our Lord.
These expectations and prophecies
that we have mentioned, have mean
4 ing only when we apply them tt
Jesus of Nazareth. In Him are full
filed all the prophecies of old. He
has renewed the world by re-establish
ing the bond between it and heaven;
He has founded a religion of love
Itonl Lne 1sf%aI MAN 011% ~