,astral ,worship  by  ,j4 ,h4 ,hill1 ,m4
 ,d4        ,now1 what ,i want          
is--facts4--,boz4                       
,,contents4 ,,introduction              
#e ,,the ,,geocentric ,,system ,,of     
,,nature               #ac    ,the      
,earth                                  
#ac    ,the ,firmament                  
#ac    ,the ,planets                    
#ad    ,the ,constellations             
#ae    ,the ,zodiac                     
#ae ,,the ,,sacred ,,numbers #g ,,and   
#ab                   #ag ,,the ,,twelve
 ,,thousand ,,year ,,cycle              
#ah ,,the ,,ancient ,,triad             
#ai ,,god ,,sol                         
#bb ,,the ,,ancient ,,cosmogony         
#cj ,,fall ,,and ,,redemption ,,of ,,man
                    #ca ,,incarnations  
,,of ,,god ,,sol                        
#cc ,,fable ,,of ,,the ,,twelve ,,labors
                    #cf ,,anniversaries 
,,of ,,solar ,,worship                  
#dj    ,the ,nativity                   
#dj    ,epiphany or ,twelfth ,day       

#da    ,lent or ,lenten ,season         
#db    ,passion ,week                   
#dd    ,passion ,plays                  
#de    ,resurrection and ,easter        
,festival           #df    ,annunciation
                               #dh      
,ascension                              
#di    ,assumption                      
#di    ,the ,lord's ,supper             
#ej    ,transubstantiation              
#ej    ,autumnal ,crucifixion           
#ea    ,michaelmas                      
#ef ,,personifications ,,of ,,the       
,,divisions ,,of ,,time     #eg    ,the 
,hours                                  
#eg    ,the ,days                       
#eg    ,the ,months                     
#eh    ,the ,seasons                    
#fj    ,half ,year of ,increasing ,days 
#fc    ,half ,year of ,decreasing ,days 
#fc    ,last ,quarter of the ,year      
#fd ,,zodiacal ,,symbols ,,of ,,solar   
,,worship             #fd    ,the       
,sphinx                                 
#fe    ,the ,dragon                     

#ff    ,the ,bull                       
#fg    ,the ,ram                        
#fh    ,the ,lamb                       
#fh    ,the ,fish                       
#ga ,,signs ,,of ,,the ,,cross          
#gb ,,future ,,rewards ,,and            
,,punishments                #gd    ,the
 ,oriental ,system                      
#ge    ,the ,occidental ,system         
#ge    ,the ,second or ,general         
,judgment             #gg ,,jewish1 ,,or
 ,,ancient ,,christianity               
#gi ,,the ,,prophecies                  
#hc ,,roman ,,or ,,modern ,,christianity
                  #hh ,,freemasonry     
,,and ,,druidism                        
#aji ,,the ,,sabbath                    
#aag ,,pious ,,frauds                   
#aba ,,conclusion                       
#abe     ,,introduction4  ,in an        
article1 entitled ,then and ,now1       
published in the ,december number1      
#ahij1 of ,the ,arena1 its author1 a    
distinguished ,unitarian ,d4,d4 of      
,boston1 ,mass41 says4 ,astronomy has   

shattered the fallacies of ,astrology2  
and people have found out that the stars
 are minding their own business instead 
of meddling with theirs4 ,now1 while it 
is true that modern ,astronomy has      
superseded the ancient system1 and      
people have ceased to believe that the  
stars are intervening in mundane        
affairs1 nothing could be further from  
the truth than the assertion that       
,astronomy has shattered the fallacies  
of ,astrology2 and those of our readers 
who will accord to this work an         
unprejudiced perusal can hardly fail to 
be convinced that a large majority of   
the people of ,christendom are dominated
 as much by these fallacies as were our 
,pagan ancestry--the only difference    
being a change of name4 ,the dogmatic   
element of religion1 which was anciently
 designated as ,astrology1 is now known 
as ,theology4  ,all the evidences       
bearing upon the subject indicate that  
the founders of the primary form of     
religion were a sect of philosophers1   

known as ,magi1 or wise men1 of the     
,aryan race of ,central ,asia1 who1     
having lived ages before any conceptions
 of the supernatural had obtained in the
 world1 and speculating relative to the 
beginnings of things1 were necessarily  
confined to the contemplation and study 
of nature1 the elements of which they   
believed to be self-existent and endless
 in duration2 but1 being wholly without 
knowledge of her inherent forces1 they  
explained her manifold processes by     
conceiving the idea that she was        
animated by a great and inherent soul or
 spirit1 emanations from which impressed
 all her parts with life and motion4    
,thus1 endowing man1 and other animals1 
with souls emanating alike from the     
imaginary great soul of nature1 they    
believed1 and taught1 that immediately  
after death all souls were absorbed into
 their source1 where1 as the dewdrop    
slips into the shining sea1 all personal
 identity was forever lost4 ,hence we   
see that although recognizing the soul  

as immortal1 considering it1 not as an  
entity existing independent of matter1  
but as the spirit of matter itself1 the 
primary religion was the exponent of the
 purest form of ,materialism4  ,being   
the ,astronomers of their day1 and      
mistaking the apparent for the real1 the
 ancient ,magi constructed that         
erroneous system of nature known as the 
,geocentric1 and1 in conformity thereto1
 composed a collection of ,astronomical 
,allegories1 in which the emanations    
from the imaginary great soul of nature1
 by which they believed all             
materialities we're impressed with life 
and motion1 were personified and made to
 play their respective parts4 ,basing   
the religion they instituted upon their 
system of ,allegorical ,astronomy1 and  
making its personifications the objects 
of worship1 they thus originated the    
anthropomorphic or man-like ,gods1 and1 
claiming to have composed them under the
 inspiration of these self same         
divinities1 they designated them as     

sacred records1 or ,scriptures1 and     
taught the ignorant masses that they    
were literal histories1 and their       
personifications real personages1 who1  
having once lived upon earth1 and2 for  
the good of mankind1 performed the      
wondrous works imputed to them1 were    
then in heaven whence they came4  ,thus 
we see that the primary religion1 which 
is popularly known as ,paganism1 was    
founded in the worship of personified   
nature2 that1 according special homage  
to the imaginary genii of the stars1 and
 inculcating supreme adoration to the   
divinity supposed to reside in the sun1 
it was anciently known by the general   
name of ,astrolatry1 and by the more    
specific one of solar worship2 and that 
its founders1 arrogating to themselves  
the title of ,astrologers1 gave to its  
dogmatic element the name of ,astrology4
  ,in studying the primitive forms of   
religion it will be found that none of  
them taught anything relative to a      
future life1 for the simple reason that 

their founders had no conceptions of    
such a state4 ,hence it follows that the
 laws they enacted were intended solely 
for the regulation of their social      
relations1 and1 to secure their         
observance1 they were embodied into     
their sacred records and made part of   
their religion4 ,one form of that most  
ancient worship was known as ,sabaism1  
or ,sabism4 ,another form of the same   
religion was the ,ancient ,judaism1 as  
portrayed in the ,old ,testament1 and   
more especially in the ,pentateuch1 or  
first five books2 in the ,decalogue of  
which the only promise made for the     
observance of one of the ,commandments  
is length of days on earth2 and1 in a   
general summing up of the blessings and 
curses to be enjoyed or suffered1 for   
the observance or violation of the laws1
 as recorded in the #bhth chapter of    
,deuteronomy1 it will be seen they are  
all of a temporal character only4 ,at   
the beginning of the ,christian era     
there were still in existence a sect of 

,jews known as ,sadducees1 who were     
strict adherents to the primitive form  
of worship1 and their belief relative to
 the state of the dead we find recorded 
in ,ecclesiastes xii41 #g1 which reads3 
,then shall the dust return to earth as 
it was1 and the spirit shall return to  
,god who gave it4  ,for ages the        
doctrine of soul absorption1 immediately
 after death1 constituted the belief of 
mankind2 but ultimately recognizing the 
fact that the temporal punishments of   
the existing laws were wholly inadequate
 to the prevention of crime1 and        
conceiving the idea that the ignorant   
and vicious masses could be governed    
with a surer hand by appealing to the   
sentiments of hope and fear in relation 
to the rewards and punishments of an    
imaginary future life1 the ancient      
,astrologers resolved to remodel the    
dogmatic elements of religion so as to  
include that doctrine4 ,but realizing   
the necessity1 of suppressing the belief
 in the absorption of all souls1        

immediately after death1 they ceased to 
teach it1 and ultimately it was embodied
 in that secret and unwritten system    
known as the ,esoteric philosophy1 in   
which the ,astrologers formulated their 
own private belief1 and which for many  
centuries was kept from the knowledge of
 the uninitiated by their successors in 
the priestly office4 ,as they were the  
sole custodians of the ,scriptures1 they
 made do change in their verbiage1 but1 
adding the doctrine of future rewards   
and punishments to that written and     
openly taught system of faith known as  
the ,exoteric creed1 they made it the   
more impressive by instituting a system 
of imposing rites and ceremonies1 which 
they designated as ,mysteries1 into     
which they initiated the neophytes1 and 
in which were portrayed1 in the most    
vivid manner1 the rewards and           
punishments of the imaginary future     
life1 which they taught were the awards 
of the ,gods for the observance or      
violation of the laws4 ,these teachings 

were inculcated in the lesser degrees   
only1 but those who were found worthy of
 so great a distinction were also       
inducted into the higher degrees1 in    
which was imparted the knowledge of the 
,esoteric philosophy4 ,in both the      
lesser and higher degrees the initiates 
received instruction in an oral manner  
only2 and all were bound by the most    
fearful oaths not to reveal the secrets 
imparted to them4  ,thus were the       
votaries of the ancient ,astral worship 
divided into two distinct classes1 the  
,esoterics1 or ,gnostics2 and the       
,exoterics1 or ,agnostics2 the former   
comprising those who knew that the ,gods
 were mythical and the scriptures       
allegorical2 and the latter1 those who  
were taught that the ,gods were real1   
and the scriptures historical2 or1 in   
other words1 it was philosophy for the  
cultured few1 and religion for the      
ignorant multitude4 ,the initiates into 
the secrets of these two systems        
recognized them as the two ,gospels2 and

 ,paul must have had reference to them  
in his ,epistle to the ,galatians ii41  
#b1 where he distinguishes the ,gospel  
which he preached on ordinary occasions 
from that ,gospel which he preached     
privately to them which were of         
reputation4  ,such was the system of    
,astrolatry1 which1 originating in the  
,orient1 and becoming1 after being      
remodelled in ,egypt1 the prototype of  
all ,occidental forms of worship1 was   
recognized1 successively1 as the state  
religion of the ,grecian and ,roman     
,empires2 and we propose to describe the
 erroneous system of nature upon which  
it was based1 and to develop the origins
 of its cycles1 dogmas1 ordinances1     
anniversaries1 personifications and     
symbols1 with the view to proving that  
it was the very same system which was   
ultimately perpetuated under the name of
 ,christianity4 ,we also propose to     
present the origins and abridged        
histories of its two forms1 the ,jewish1
 or ancient1 and the ,roman1 or modern2 

and to give an account of the conflict  
between the votaries of the latter1 and 
the adherents to the established form of
 worship1 which culminated in the fourth
 century in the substitution of         
,christianity as the state religion of  
the ,roman ,empire4 ,we furthermore     
propose to show the changes to which the
 creed and scriptures were subjected    
during the ,middle ,ages1 and at the    
,reformation in the sixteenth century1  
through which they assumed the phases as
 now taught in the theologies1          
respectively of ,catholicism and        
,orthodox ,protestantism4 ,we also      
present an article relative to          
,freemasonry and ,druidism1 for the     
purpose of showing that1 primarily1 they
 were but different forms of the ancient
 ,astrolatry4 ,we also devote a few     
pages to the subjects of the ,sabbath1  
and to that of ,pious ,frauds4          
,note4--,for the matter published in    
this work1 we are principally indebted  
to the writings of ,robert ,taylor1 an  

erudite but recusant minister of the    
church of ,england1 who flourished about
 seventy years ago1 and who1 being too  
honest to continue to preach what1 after
 thorough investigation1 he did not     
believe1 began to give expression to his
 doubts by writing and lecturing4 ,not  
being able to cope with his arguments1  
the clergy1 under the charge of the     
impossible crime of blasphemy1 had him  
imprisoned for more than two years1     
during which time he wrote his great    
work entitled ,the ,diegesis1 which     
should be read by all persons who are   
investigating the claim of the          
,christian religion to ,divine          
authenticity4    ,,the ,,geocentric     
,,system ,,of ,,nature4  ,in            
constructing their system of nature1 the
 ancient ,astronomers constituted it of 
the ,earth1 the ,firmament1 the         
,planets1 the ,constellations and the   
,zodiac1 and we will refer to them in   
the order named4   ,the ,earth4         
,believing that the earth was the only  

world1 that it was a vast circular      
plane1 and that it was the fixed and    
immovable center around which revolved  
the celestial luminaries1 the ancient   
,astronomers1 in conformity to the      
requirement of the doctrine of future   
rewards and punishments1 as inculcated  
in the ,egyptian ,version of the        
,exoteric ,creed1 divided it into an    
upper and an under1 or nether world1    
which they connected by a sinuous and   
tenebrious passage4   ,the ,firmament4  
,the azure dome1 called the firmament in
 the book of ,genesis1 was believed to  
be a solid transparency1 which we find  
described1 in the fourth chapter and    
sixth verse1 of that collection of      
,astronomical ,allegories1 called the   
,apocalypse1 or ,book of ,revelation1 as
 a sea of glass like unto crystal4 ,it  
was represented as being supported by   
four pillars1 resting upon the earth1   
one at each of the cardinal points1     
which were designated as the pillars of 
heaven4 ,conceiving the idea that there 

were windows in the firmament1 the      
ancient ,astronomers called them the    
windows of heaven and taught that they  
were opened when it rained1 and closed  
when it ceased to rain4 ,hence it is    
evident that the ancient ,astronomers   
did not refer to these pillars and      
windows in a figurative sense1 but as   
real appurtenances to a solid firmament1
 as will be seen by reference to ,gen4  
vii4 #aa1 and viii4 #b1 ,job xxvi4 #aa1 
and ,malachi iii4 #aj4   ,the ,planets4 
,believing that the stars were but mere 
flambeaux1 suspended beneath the        
firmament1 and revolving round the      
earth1 for the sole purpose of giving it
 light and heat2 and observing that     
seven of these1 answering to the ,sun1  
,moon1 ,mercury1 ,venus1 ,mars1 ,jupiter
 and ,saturn1 had perceptible movements1
 in relation to the other luminaries1   
the ancient astronomers designated them 
as planets or wandering stars4   ,the   
,constellations4  ,perceiving that the  
other celestial luminaries maintained   

the same relation to each other1 and    
designating them as fixed stars1 the    
ancient astronomers grouped those       
visible to them into forty-eight        
,constellations2 and giving names to    
these1 they also attached names to the  
stars of larger magnitude1 which was    
done for the purpose of locating and    
distinguishing them with greater ease4  
,the ,zodiac4  ,through twelve of these 
,constellations1 mostly contained within
 a belt of #af degrees in width1 and    
within which the planets appeared to    
revolve1 the ancient astronomers        
inscribed a central line representing   
the ,ecliptic1 or apparent orbit of the 
sun1 which they divided into #cfj       
degrees2 and quartering these to denote 
the seasons1 they named the cardinal    
points the ,summer and ,winter          
,solstices1 and the ,vernal and         
,autumnal ,equinoxes2 the former        
referring to the longest and shortest   
days of the year2 and the latter to the 
two periods when the days and nights are

 equal4 ,an abbreviatory sign having    
been attached to each of these          
constellations1 the great celestial belt
 containing them was called the wheel of
 the signs1 or a wheel in the middle of 
a wheel1 as designated by that old      
,astrologer1 ,ezekiel the ,prophet1 in  
chap4 i4 and #afth verse4 ,but for the  
reason that1 with only one exception1   
the forms of living things1 either real 
or mythical1 were given to them1 this   
belt1 ultimately1 wad designated as the 
,zodiac2 or ,circle of living           
,creatures1 see ,ezekiel1 chap4 i4      
,constituting the essential feature of  
the ancient ,astronomy1 we present1 in  
our frontispiece1 a diagram of the      
,zodiac1 as anciently represented1 to   
which1 as well as to ,burritts'         
,celestial ,atlas1 our readers will be  
necessitated to make frequent reference4
  ,see plate#a4;gif  ,recent researches 
among the ruins of ancient cities have  
developed the fact that several         
centuries before the beginning of our   

era the astronomers had invented the    
telescope1 and discovered the true or   
heliocentric system of nature2 but for  
the reason that religion had been based 
upon the false1 or geocentric system1 it
 was deemed prudent not to teach it to  
the masses4 ,hence1 hiding it away among
 the other secrets of the ,esoteric     
philosophy1 the knowledge of it was lost
 during the ,middle ,ages2 and when     
rediscovered1 the hierarchy of the      
,church of ,rome1 upon the plea that it 
was contrary to the teachings of        
,scripture1 resorted to inquisitorial   
tortures to suppress its promulgation2  
but1 in spite of all their efforts1 it  
has been universally accepted2 and1 in  
this otherwise enlightened age1 we have 
presented to us the anomaly of a        
religion based upon a false system of   
,astronomy1 while its votaries believe  
in the true system4    ,,the ,,sacred   
,,numbers #g ,,and #ab4  ,in reference  
to the planets1 and the signs of the    
,zodiac1 the numbers seven and twelve   

were recognized as sacred by the ancient
 ,astrologers1 and dedications were made
 to them in all kinds and sorts of      
forms4 ,in the allegories1 the genii of 
the planets were designated as spirits  
or messengers to the ,supreme ,deity1   
imaginarily enthroned above the         
firmament1 which we find described in   
,revelations iv4 #e1 as ,seven lamps of 
fire burning before the throne1 which   
are the seven spirits of ,god2 and which
 were represented by lights burning in  
seven branched candlesticks set before  
the altars in the temples2 the central  
light for the ,sun2 the ,moon1 ,mercury 
and ,venus on one side2 and ,mars1      
,jupiter and ,saturn on the other4 ,the 
seven branched candlesticks seen in all 
,catholic churches1 and in some         
,protestant ones1 are intended to       
represent the same planetary system4    
,among the numerous dedications to the  
genii of the planets we mention the     
seven days of the week1 the seven       
stories of the tower of ,babylon1 the   

seven gates of ,thebes1 the seven piped 
flute of ,pan1 the seven stringed lyre  
of ,apollo1 the seven books of fate1 the
 book of seven seals1 the seven castes  
into which the ,egyptians and ,east     
,indians were divided1 and the jubilee  
of seven times seven years4 ,among the  
dedications to the twelve signs we      
mention the twelve months of the year1  
the grand cycle of #ab1jjj years1 the   
twelve altars of ,james1 the twelve     
labors of ,hercules1 the twelve         
divisions of the ,egyptian ,labyrinth1  
the twelve shields of ,mars1 the twelve 
precious stones1 ranged in threes to    
denote the seasons1 in the breastplate  
of ,high ,priest1 the twelve foundations
 of the ,sacred ,city1 referred to in   
the ,book of ,revelation1 the twelve    
sons of ,jacob1 the twelve tribes of    
,israel1 and the twelve ,disciples4 ,in 
the ,book of ,revelation alone the      
number #g is repeated twenty-four times1
 and the number #ab fourteen times4     
,,the ,,twelve ,,thousand ,,year        

,,cycle4  ,in determining the duration  
of the period within which were to occur
 the events taught in the doctrines of  
the ,exoteric ,creed1 the ancient       
,astrologers dedicated a thousand years 
to each of the signs of the ,zodiac1 and
 thus inaugurating the cycle of twelve  
thousand years1 taught that1 at its     
conclusion1 the heaven and the earth1   
which they believed to be composed of   
the indestructible elements of fire1    
air1 earth and water1 would1 through the
 agency of the first of these1 be       
reduced to chaos1 as a preliminary to   
the reorganization of a new heaven and a
 new earth at the beginning of the      
succeeding cycle4 ,such was the origin  
of the grand cycle of the ancient       
,astrolatry1 and it must be borne in    
mind that its authors made its          
conclusion to correspond in time and    
circumstance to the doctrines relating  
to the finale of the plan of redemption4
    ,,the ,,ancient ,,triad4  ,after    
conceiving the idea of a primeval chaos1

 constituted of four indestructible     
elements of which fire was the leading  
one1 the ,oriental astrologers began to 
indulge in speculations relative to the 
agencies which were engaged in its      
organization4 ,having no knowledge of   
the forces inherent in nature1 they     
imputed this work to three              
intelligences1 which1 embodying the ,all
 in ,all1 they personified by the figure
 of a man with three heads1 and to this 
trinity gave the names of ,brahma1      
,vishnu and ,siva4 ,such a figure1      
carved in stone1 may be seen in the     
island ,cave of ,elephanta1 near        
,bombay1 ,india1 and is popularly       
believed to represent the ,creator1     
,preserver and ,destroyer2 but1 in      
determining their true signification1 we
 must be governed by the ancient        
teachings that ,all things were made by 
one god-head with three names1 and this 
,god is all things4 ,hence the          
conclusion is irresistible that the     
first person represents neither the     

creator nor organizer of chaos1 but     
chaos itself2 the second person1 its    
organizer and governor2 and the third   
person1 the agent in nature which       
impresses all her parts with life and   
motion2 the latter being the imaginary  
great soul or spirit inculcated in the  
,esoteric philosophy4 ,in support of    
this opinion it will be found that the  
,egyptian ,triad of ,father1 ,son and   
,spirit is virtually the same we have   
assigned to its ,oriental prototype4    
,thus we see that to the ancient        
,astrolatry ,christendom is indebted for
 the ,trinity of              ,god the  
,father1 ,god the ,son1                 
,god the ,spirit--three in one4  ,but1  
having ascribed supreme intelligence or 
reason to its second person1 under the  
name of the ,logos1 or ,word1 and       
designating its third person as the     
,holy ,ghost1 the ancient ,triad was    
usually formulated as the ,father1 the  
,word and the ,holy ,ghost1 as may be   
seen by reference to the text in the    

allegories which we find recorded in ,i 
,john v4 #g1 which reads that ,there are
 three that bear record in heaven1 the  
,father1 the ,word and the ,holy ,ghost1
 and these three are one4  ,considered  
in some forms of ,astrolatry as too     
sacred to attach a name to the triune   
,deity1 he was called the ,one1 and we  
find him thus designated in the #dth    
chapter of ,revelation1 where1 like     
,zeus and ,jupiter1 of the ,grecian and 
,roman mythologies1 he is represented as
 seated above the firmament1 upon a     
throne from which proceeded lightnings  
and thunderings1 and to whom all1 the   
subordinate divinities were made to pay 
homage4 ,as the hurler of thunderbolts  
he was called the ,thunderer1 and as the
 opener of the windows of heaven1 when  
it rained1 he was designated ,jupiter   
,pluvius4 ,such was the ancient ,triad  
made to say of himself1 in an           
inscription found in the ruins of the   
temple at ,sais in ,egypt1 ,i am all    
that has been1 all that is1 and all that

 shall be1 and no mortal has lifted yet 
the veil that covers me2 and such was   
the ,triunity referred to as the ,god   
,universe by ,pliny1 the ,roman         
philosopher and naturalist1 who1        
flourishing in the first century of the 
,christian era1 wrote that he is ,an    
infinite ,god which has never been      
created1 and which shall never come to  
an end4 ,to look for something else     
beyond it is useless labor for man and  
out of his reach4 ,behold that truly    
sacred ,being1 eternal and immense1     
which includes within itself everything2
 it is ,all in ,all1 or rather itself is
 ,all4 ,it is the work of nature1 and   
itself is nature4  ,thus we see that1   
although inculcating homage to a        
multitude of subordinate divinities1 the
 ancient ,astrolatry was only an        
apparent ,polytheism2 its enlightened   
votaries1 recognizing the dogma of the  
unity of ,god1 were in reality          
,monotheists1 paying supreme adoration  
to the mythical genius of the ,sun1 to  

whom we will now direct attention4      
,,god ,,sol4  ,in determining the       
characteristics of the supreme divinity 
of astral worship1 it must be borne in  
mind that its founders taught that he   
was evolved or engendered by the        
,father1 or first person in the sacred  
,triad1 from his pure substance1 which  
as we have shown was constituted of     
chaos or the primeval fire into which   
they supposed all things were reduced   
through the agency of that element at   
the conclusion of #ab1jjj year cycles4  
,hence1 designating that mythical being 
as the only begotten of the ,father1    
they personified him as ,god the ,son1  
or second person in the sacred ,triad2  
and recognizing the ,sun as the ruling  
star1 very appropriately made him the   
presiding genius of that luminary1 under
 the title of ,god ,sol4 ,according     
homage to light as his chief attribute1 
he is referred to in the allegories as  
,the true ,light1 which lighteth every  
man that cometh into the world1 ,john   

i41 #i2 and1 although designated as the 
only begotten of the ,father1 his       
co-existence with him1 under the title  
of the ,logos or ,word1 is shown in the 
text which reads1 ,in the beginning was 
the ,word1 and the ,word was with ,god1 
and the ,word was ,god1 ,john i41 #a4   
,personifying the principles of ,good   
and ,evil in ,god ,sol1 the ancient     
,astrologers consecrated the six        
divisions of the #ab1jjj year cycle1    
corresponding to the reproductive months
 of ,spring and ,summer1 to him as ,lord
 of ,good1 and symbolizing him by the   
constellation of the ,zodiac in which   
the ,vernal ,equinox successively       
occurred1 as explained hereafter1 they  
dedicated the six divisions of that     
cycle1 corresponding to the destructive 
months of ,autumn and ,winter1 to him as
 ,lord of ,evil1 and as such1           
symbolizing him by the serpent1 marked  
the beginning of his reign by the       
constellation ,serpens1 placed in       
conjunction with the ,autumnal ,equinox4

 ,personifying in him the opposing      
principles of ,good and ,evil1 he was to
 the ancients both ,god and ,devil1 or  
the varied ,god1 who1 in relation to the
 seasons1 was described as beautiful in 
,spring1 powerful in ,summer1 beneficent
 in ,autumn and terrible in ,winter4    
,thus under various names1 intended to  
represent ,god ,sol in relation to the  
diversified seasons1 we find recorded in
 the ,scriptures1 or solar fables1      
numerous portrayals of imaginary        
conflicts1 in which the ,evil principle1
 triumphing during ,autumn and ,winter1 
is conquered at the ,vernal ,equinox by 
the ,good principle1 who1 bringing back 
equal days and nights1 restores the     
harmony of nature4  ,the eternal enmity 
between the principles of ,good and     
,evil1 as manifested in the diversity of
 the seasons1 we find portrayed in the  
,constellations ,hercules and ,draco1   
placed in the northern heavens1 in which
 the heel of the former1 representing   
one of the most ancient of the imaginary

 incarnations of ,god ,sol1 to which we 
will refer hereafter1 is resting upon   
the head of the latter1 as referred to  
in ,genesis iii41 #ae1 which makes ,god 
,sol1 or the ,lord ,god1 say to the     
serpent1 ,i will put enmity between thee
 and the woman1 and between thy seed and
 her seed2 it shall bruise thy head1 and
 thou shalt bruise his heel4 ,the woman 
alluded to in this text is the ,virgo of
 the ,zodiac1 as will be made apparent  
hereafter4  ,see plate#b4;gif  ,of all  
the divinities of the ancient mythology 
,god ,sol was the only one distinguished
 by the exalted title of ,lord or ,lord 
,god1 for the reason that he was made   
the organizer of chaos and governor of  
heaven and earth4 ,hence1 having        
constituted him the lord of light and   
darkness1 as well as good and evil1 the 
ancient astrologers in composing the    
solar fables made him say of himself1 ,i
 form the light and create darkness2 ,i 
make peace and create evil1 ,i the ,lord
 do all these things1 ,isaiah xlv41 #g4 

,shall there be evil in a city1 and the 
,lord hath not done it8 ,amos iii41 #f4 
,besides the title of ,lord or ,lord    
,god1 the solar divinity is also        
designated in the allegories as the     
,lord of ,lords and the ,king of ,kings1
 the ,invincible1 the ,mighty ,god1 etc4
  ,subjecting the mythical genius of the
 sun1 in his apparent annual revolution 
round the earth1 to the four stages of  
human life from infancy to old age1 the 
ancient ,magi fixed the natal day of the
 young ,god ,sol at the winter solstice1
 the ,virgo of the ,zodiac was made his 
mother1 and the constellation in        
conjunction with her1 which is now known
 as ,bootes1 but anciently called       
,arcturus1 his foster father4 ,he is    
represented as holding in leash two     
hunting dogs and driving ,ursa ,major1  
or the ,great ,bear1 around the north   
pole1 thus showing that the original    
occupation of the celestial foster      
father of the young ,god ,sol was that  
of a bear driver1 and that his sons1    

referred to in job xxxviii41 #cb1 are   
the dogs ,asterion and ,chara4 ,it will 
be observed that ,virgo is represented  
in our illustration with a child in her 
arms1 for the reason that she is so     
represented in the ancient ,zodiacs1 and
 the fact will be readily conceded that 
she is the only ,virgin who could give  
birth to a child and be a virgin still4 
,see plate#c4;gif    ,,the ,,ancient    
,,cosmogony4  ,speculating relative to  
the order in which chaos had been       
organized1 the ancient ,astrologers     
constructed a ,cosmogony1 which divided 
the labors of ,god the ,son1 or second  
person in the ,trinity1 into six periods
 of a thousand years each2 and which1   
answering to the six divisions of the   
#ab1jjj year cycle corresponding to the 
reproductive months of ,spring and      
,summer1 taught that in the first period
 he made the earth2 in the second1 the  
firmament2 in the third1 vegetation2 in 
the fourth1 the ,sun and ,moon and the  
stars also2 in the fifth1 the animals1  

fishes1 birds1 etc41 and in the sixth1  
,man4  ,that vegetation was made before 
the ,sun was not an inconsistent idea to
 the originators of the ancient         
,cosmogony4 ,they imagined that the heat
 and light1 emanating from the          
elementary fire1 were sufficient to     
stimulate its growth1 after which ,god  
the ,son gathered it together and made  
the ,celestial luminaries4 ,in the solar
 fables this imaginary element is called
 the fire-ether1 or sacred fire of the  
stars4    ,,fall ,,and ,,redemption ,,of
 ,,man4  ,religion having been based    
upon the worship of personified nature1 
it is evident that its founders         
fabricated its dogmatic element from    
their conceptions of her destructive and
 reproductive processes as manifested in
 the rotation and diversity of the      
seasons4 ,the apparent retreat of the   
sun from the earth1 in winter1 and his  
return in the spring1 suggesting the    
idea of a figurative death and          
resurrection of the genius of that      

luminary1 they applied these phenomena  
of the year to man1 and composed the    
allegories relative to his fall and     
redemption1 as inculcated in the        
,exoteric ,creed4 ,in the allegory      
relating to the fall1 it was taught     
that1 after making the first human pair1
 the ,lord of ,good or the ,lord ,god   
placed them in a beautiful              
garden--corresponding to the seasons of 
fruits and flowers or months of ,spring 
and ,summer1 with the injunction1 under 
a penalty1 not to eat of the fruit of a 
certain tree4 ,when the ,lord of ,evil1 
or ,devil1 symbolized by the serpent and
 represented by the constellation       
,serpens placed in conjunction with the 
,autumnal ,equinox1 meeting them on the 
confines of his dominion1 and tempting  
the woman1 and she the man1 they ate of 
the forbidden fruit2 thus1 falling from 
their first estate1 and committing the  
original sin1 they involved the whole   
human race in the consequences of their 
disobedience4 ,then the ,lord ,god1     

pronouncing a curse against the serpent1
 clothed the man and woman with skins to
 protect them against the inclemency of 
his1 dominion as ,lord of ,evil1 and    
drove them from the garden2 after which 
they were necessitated to earn their    
bread by tilling the ground4  ,in1      
reference to the plan of redemption1 the
 ancient ,astrologers divided the #f1jjj
 years appropriated to man1 as the      
duration of his race on earth1 into ten 
equal cycles1 and taught that at the    
conclusion of each ,god ,sol1 as ,lord  
of ,good1 would manifest himself in the 
flesh1 to destroy his works as ,lord of 
,evil1 and through suffering and death  
make an atonement for sin4 ,thus having 
originated the doctrines of original    
sin1 incarnation and vicarious          
atonement1 as parts of the plan of      
redemption1 and making its finale       
correspond1 in point of time1 to the    
conclusion of the #ab1jjj year cycle1   
their successors in the priestly office 
ultimately inculcated the additional    

dogmas of the general judgment and      
future rewards and punishments1 as we   
have shown in our introduction4  ,having
 based the fables of the fall and       
redemption of man upon the idea that he 
was impelled1 without his volition1 to  
pass from the dominion of ,god to that  
of the ,devil1 or in other words1 upon  
his subjection to the inexorable        
necessity which makes the inclement     
seasons of ,autumn and ,winter succeed  
the beneficent ones of ,spring and      
,summer1 its authors composed the       
original of the text which1 found in    
,romans viii41 #bj1 reads that ,the     
creature was made subject to vanity     
7,evil71 not willingly1 but by reason of
 him who hath subjected the same in     
hope4  ,but for the popular teaching in 
favor of its being literal history1 no  
one could read the account of the fall  
of man1 as recorded in the third chapter
 of ,genesis1 without recognizing it as 
simply an allegory2 or fail to realize1 
the force of the argument of no fall1 no

 redemption1 and if no redemption1 no   
,god to reward or ,devil to punish2 no  
hell to suffer1 or heaven to enjoy4 ,the
 fact is that these are but antithetical
 ideas which came in together1 and must 
survive or perish together4 ,they cannot
 be separated without destroying the    
whole theological fabric4               
,,incarnations ,,of ,,god ,,sol4        
,believing that ,god ,sol was           
necessitated to remain at his post to   
direct the course of the sun1 the       
ancient astrologers conceived the idea  
of teaching that1 attended by a retinue 
of subordinate genii1 he descended to   
earth through the medium of incarnations
 at the end of #fjj year cycles1 to     
perform the work of man's redemption    
and1 having made ,virgo of the ,zodiac  
the mother of the ,solar divinity1 they 
taught in their allegorical ,astronomy1 
or scriptures1 that his incarnations    
were born of a ,virgin4 ,hence we find  
that ,god ,sol1 usually designated by   
the title of the ,word1 was made flesh1 

and dwelt among us4 ,john i41 #ad4  ,in 
a discourse upon this text delivered by 
,tillotson1 ,archbishop of ,canterbury1 
in the year #afhj1 published in the     
fourth volume of ,woodhouse's edition of
 his ,grace's sermons1 in the year      
#agdd1 concerning the ,incarnation of   
our blessed ,saviour1 he explains the   
necessity of incarnation by saying that 
,there was likewise a great inclination 
in mankind to the worship of a visible  
,deity1 so ,god was pleased to appear in
 our nature1 that they1 who were so fond
 of a visible ,deity1 might have one1   
even a true and natural image of ,god   
the ,father1 the express image of his   
person4 ,it only requires a little      
reflection to appreciate the ,prelate's 
covert irony and want of faith4  ,having
 ascribed to the imaginary incarnations 
of ,god ,sol the characteristics of     
heaven-descending1 virgin-born1         
earth-walking1 wonder-working1 dying1   
resuscitated and ascending sons of ,god1
 the ancient ,astrologers attached to   

them the several titles of ,saviour1    
,redeemer1 ,avatar1 ,divine-,helper1    
,shiloh1 ,messiah1 ,christ2 and1 in     
reference to their foster-father1 that  
of ,son of ,man4 ,teaching that they    
continued to make intercession for sin1 
after their ascension to the right hand 
of the ,father1 they were also called   
,intercessors1 ,mediators or ,advocates 
with the ,father4 ,from teaching their  
appearance every #fjj years originated  
the ,egyptian legend of the ,phoenix1 a 
bird said to descend from the sun at    
these intervals1 and1 after being       
consumed upon the altar in the temple of
 ,on1 or city of the sun--called        
,heliopolis by the ,greeks--would rise  
from its ashes and ascend to its source4
 ,according to the civil laws of ,egypt1
 manhood was not attained until the age 
of thirty years4 ,hence the earthly     
mission of incarnate ,saviours was made 
to begin at that age2 and for the reason
 that1 relating to the apparent transit 
of the sun through the twelve signs of  

the ,zodiac1 it was completed during the
 period of one year4  ,to impress the   
ignorant masses with the belief that the
 scriptures were literal histories1 and 
the incarnate ,saviours real personages1
 the ancient ,astrologers caused tombs  
to be erected in which it was claimed   
they were buried4 ,such sepulchres were 
erected to ,hercules at ,cadiz1 to      
,apollo at ,delphi1 and to other        
,saviours at many other places1 to which
 their respective votaries were induced 
to perform pilgrimages4 ,in ,egypt the  
pyramids were built1 partly for         
astronomical purposes1 and partly as    
tombs for ,saviours1 claimed to have    
been kings1 who had once ruled over the 
country2 and why should we not recognize
 that magnificent structure known as the
 ,church of the ,holy ,sepulchre1 at    
,jerusalem1 as but another of those     
tombs of ,saviours in which no ,saviour 
was ever entombed8  ,thus we have shown 
that it was ,god ,sol1 the only begotten
 of the ,father1 or second person in the

 sacred ,triad1 to whom supreme         
adoration was inculcated in all forms of
 the ancient ,astrolatry2 and that its  
cultured votaries1 understanding that   
the doctrines pertaining to the fall and
 redemption of man were evolved from the
 figurative death and resurrection of   
the solar divinity1 recognized the      
doctrine of incarnation as a priestly   
invention intended only for the ignorant
 masses4    ,,fable ,,of ,,the ,,twelve 
,,labors4  ,the authors of the original 
solar fables1 having lived in that      
remote age in which physical prowess was
 recognized as the highest attribute of 
humanity1 conceived the idea that ,god  
,sol1 while passing through his apparent
 orbit1 had to fight his way with the   
animals of the ,zodiac1 and with others 
in conjunction with them4 ,hence1       
designating him as the ,mighty ,hunter1 
and calling his exploits the twelve     
labors1 they made the incarnate         
,saviours the heroes of similar ones on 
earth1 which they taught were performed 

for the good of mankind2 and that1 after
 fulfilling their earthly mission1 they 
were exhaled to heaven through the      
agency of fire4 ,when these fables were 
composed the ,summer ,solstice was in   
the sign of ,leo1 and making the twelve 
labors begin in it1 the first consisted 
in the killing of a lion1 and the       
second1 in rescuing a virgin 7,virgo7 by
 the destruction of a ,hydra1 the       
constellation in conjunction with her4  
,upon one of the ,assyrian marbles on   
exhibition in the ,british ,museum these
 two labors are represented as having   
been performed by a saviour by the name 
of ,nimroud4 ,in the constellations of  
,taurus1 the bull of the ,zodiac1 and of
 ,orion1 originally known as ,horns1 in 
conjunction therewith1 we have groupings
 of stars representing the latter as one
 of the mighty hunters of the ancient   
,astrolatry1 supporting on his left arm 
the shield of the lion's skin1 the      
trophy of the first labor1 and holding a
 club in his uplifted right hand1 is    

engaged in performing the tenth labor by
 a conflict with the former4  ,see      
plate#d4;gif  ,the fable of the twelve  
labors constituted the sacred records or
 scriptures of the older forms of       
,astrolatry1 one version of which1      
written with the cuneiform character    
upon twelve tablets of burnt clay1      
exhumed from the ruins of an ,assyrian  
city1 and now on exhibition in the      
,british ,museum1 is ascribed to        
,nimroud1 the prototype of the ,grecian 
,hercules1 and of ,nimrod1 the ,mighty  
,hunter of the ,old ,testament4         
,,anniversaries ,,of ,,solar ,,worship4 
,the ,nativity4  ,applying the          
anniversaries inculcated in the worship 
of ,god ,sol to his imaginary           
incarnations1 the founders of the       
ancient ,astrolatry made them refer to  
the several stages of human existence   
from infancy to mature age4 ,hence1     
comparing the first day of infantile    
life to the shortest day of the year1 it
 would naturally be expected that they  

would have placed the anniversary of the
 ,nativity exactly at the ,winter       
solstice2 but1 having conceived the idea
 that the sun stood still for the space 
of three days at each of the cardinal   
points1 and making it represent the     
figurative death of the genius of that  
luminary1 they fixed the date for its   
observance three days later1 or on the  
#beth of ,december4 ,the ,gnostic       
adherents to the ancient solar worship1 
or those who were conversant with the   
teachings of the ,esoteric philosophy1  
knowing that the dramatis personae of   
the fable of incarnation were pictured  
with stars upon the azure vault1        
recognized the woman clothed with the   
sun1 and the moon under her feet1 and   
upon her head a crown of twelve stars1  
referred to in ,revelations xii4 #a1 as 
the ,virgo of the ,zodiac2 they also    
knew that she was the true queen of     
heaven and mother of ,god2 and that the 
infant1 anciently represented in her    
arms1 and with whom1 in their day1 she  

arose on the ,eastern horizon at        
midnight on the #bdth of ,december1 was 
the same of whom the people were taught 
to sing at ,christmas ,unto us a child  
is born this day4  ,with the knowledge  
of these facts we can readily see that  
this is the ,virgin and child which     
constituted the originals of those      
exquisite paintings1 by the old masters1
 known as the ,madonna and ,child4      
,epiphany or ,twelfth ,day4  ,in        
reference to the twelve signs through   
which the sun makes his apparent annual 
revolution1 the twelfth day after       
,christmas1 answering to the #fth of    
,january1 was observed by the votaries  
of the ancient ,astrolatry as the       
anniversary of the ,epiphany or ,twelfth
 ,day4 ,in the solar fables1 it was     
taught that a star appeared in the      
heavens on that day to manifest the     
birthplace of the infant ,saviour to the
 ,magi or ,wise ,men of the ,east1 who  
came to pay him homage1 and to present  
him with the gifts of gold1 frankincense

 and myrrh1 as related in ,matthew ii4  
#aa4  ,the reason for presenting these  
gifts is explained by the facts that of 
the seven metals dedicated to the genii 
of the planets1 gold was the one        
consecrated to ,god ,sol2 and           
frankincense and myrrh were the gums    
burned in censers in his worship4  ,in  
reading the account of the ,magi's visit
 to the infant ,saviour1 we have but to 
exercise our thinking faculties to      
realize that it is allegory instead of  
literal history4   ,lent or ,lenten     
,season4  ,in the ancient solar fables  
it was taught that the persecutions to  
which the incarnate ,saviours were      
subjected while passing through the     
dominion of ,god ,sol as ,lord of ,evil1
 raged with greatest fury during the    
forty days preceding the festival of    
,easter1 which period1 beginning when   
the days were perceptibly lengthening1  
was called ,lent1 or the ,lenten season4
 ,it was during this season that the    
votaries of the ancient religion were   

taught to manifest their sympathy for   
the ,saviour in his imaginary conflict  
with the ,devil by abstaining from all  
festivities1 and by fasting and prayer2 
and1 as that was the season in which the
 flocks and herds were poor in flesh1   
while the seas and rivers abounded with 
fish in good condition1 the ancient     
priests1 making a virtue of necessity1  
enjoined a diet principally of fish1 and
 for that reason placed the             
constellation ,pisces at the point in   
the ,zodiac in which the ,lenten season 
anciently began2 which1 without regard  
to the day of the week1 was always      
observed on the #aeth day of ,february1 
the name of that month having been      
derived from the ,februa1 or feast of   
purification and expiation of the old   
,roman calendar4  ,at the council of    
,nice the ,lenten season was made to    
begin on the fourth day of the week1 and
 in reference to the ancient custom of  
the more devout sprinkling ashes upon   
their heads at the feast of the ,februa1

 it is called ,ash ,wednesday4  ,hence  
we see that all years in which ,ash     
,wednesday does not come on the #aeth of
 ,february1 the ,lenten season must     
necessarily contain a greater or lesser 
number than the original assignment of  
forty days4   ,passion ,week4  ,the last
 seven days of ,lent is called ,passion 
,week1 in reference to the apparent     
passage of the sun across the ,celestial
 equator at the ,vernal ,equinox or     
#bast of ,march2 the ancient astrologers
 having conceived the idea that the sun 
stood still for the space of three days 
at each of the cardinal points1 and     
making it represent the figurative death
 of the genius of that luminary1 it was 
observed as the anniversary of the      
,vernal crucifixion or passion of the   
incarnate ,saviours2 and in             
commemoration of their imaginary        
sufferings and death it was the custom  
to expose in the temples during the last
 three days of ,passion ,week figures   
representing their dead bodies1 over    

which the votaries of solar worship1    
especially the women1 made great        
lamentation4 ,it was in reference to one
 of these images1 laid out in the temple
 at ,jerusalem1 to which the jealous    
,jehovah1 considering it a great        
abomination in his own house1 is made to
 direct the attention of ,ezekiel1 the  
prophet1 who1 looking1 beheld ,women    
weeping for ,tammuz as recorded in the  
eighth chapter4 ,this divinity was the  
,phoenician prototype of the ,grecian   
,adonis1 to whom the women of ,judea    
preferred to pay homage4  ,it was during
 the last three days of ,passion ,week  
that the votaries of solar worship      
performed their severest penance4       
,besides fasting and prayer1 the more   
devout flagellated and slashed          
themselves and others with knives and   
thongs1 and carried heavy crosses up    
steep acclivities4 ,in all              
ultra-,catholic countries the priests1  
in imitation of the ancient custom1     
expose in the churches figures          

representing the dead ,saviour1 over    
which the laity1 especially the women1  
weep and mourn2 and the more devout men 
cut and slash themselves1 and each      
other1 with knives and thongs2 and1 in  
imitation of the imaginary tramp of     
,jesus with his cross up ,calvary's     
rugged side1 bear heavy crosses up steep
 acclivities4   ,passion ,plays4        
,anciently dramas representing the      
passion of incarnate saviours1 called   
,passion plays1 were enacted upon the   
stage4 ,the most celebrated of these    
divine tragedies1 known as ,prometheus  
,bound1 and composed by the ,greek poet 
,a,eschylus1 was played at ,athens #ejj 
years before the beginning of the       
,christian era4 ,to show that this      
sin-atoning saviour was not chained to a
 rock1 while vultures preyed upon his   
vitals1 as popularly taught1 but was    
nailed to a tree2 we quote front        
,potter's translation of the play1 that 
passage which1 readily recognized as the
 original of a ,christian song1 reads as

 follows3              ,lo1 streaming   
from the fatal tree1                ,his
 all atoning blood3              ,is    
this the infinite8 ',tis he--           
,prometheus and a ,god4                 
,well might the sun in darkness hide1   
,and veil his glories in1               
,when ,god the great ,prometheus died   
,for man1 the creature's sin4  ,the     
veiling of the sun1 as represented in   
these plays1 having reference to the    
imaginary sympathy expressed by ,god    
,sol for the sufferings of his incarnate
 son1 was shown upon the stage by       
shading the lights4 ,the monks of the   
,middle ,ages enacted plays representing
 the passion of the ,christian ,saviour1
 and the ,bavarian peasantry1           
perpetuating this custom1 perform the   
play every tenth year4   ,resurrection  
and ,easter ,festival4  ,in conformity  
to the ancient teachings1 the incarnate 
saviours1 considered as figuratively    
dead for the space of three days at the 
,vernal ,equinox1 or #bast of ,march1   

were raised to newness of life after the
 expiration of that time4 ,hence1 the   
#beth of ,march1 without regard to the  
day of the week1 was celebrated as the  
anniversary of the ,vernal resurrection4
 ,on the morning of this day it was the 
custom of the astrologers to say to the 
mourners assembled in the temples1 ,be  
of good cheer1 sacred band of initiates2
 your ,god has risen from the dead1 his 
pains and his sufferings shall be your  
salvation4 ,another form of this        
admonition1 quoted from an ancient poem 
in reference to the ,phoenician ,tammuz1
 reads as follows3              ,trust  
ye saints1 your ,god restored1          
,trust ye in your risen ,lord1          
,for the pains which he endured1        
,your salvation hath procured4  ,then   
would begin the festivities of ,easter1 
which corrupted from ,eostre1 and       
derived from the ,teutonic mythology1   
was one of the many names given to the  
goddess of ,spring4 ,in the observance  
of this festival the temples were       

adorned with floral offerings2 the      
,hilaries sang their joyful lays2 the   
fires upon the pyres1 or the            
fire-altars1 were extinguished and      
rekindled with new fire1 or sacred fire 
of the stars1 which the ,astrologers    
taught was brought down from heaven by  
the winged genius ,perseus1 the         
constellation which1 anciently1 was in  
conjunction with the ,vernal ,equinox2  
,paschal candles1 lit from the new fire1
 were distributed to the faithful and   
the ,paschal feast1 ,easter feast1 or   
the feast of the passover1 was eaten in 
commemoration of the passion of the     
incarnate saviours1 or1 in other words1 
of the passage of the sun across the    
celestial equator4 ,in ultra-,catholic  
countries the descent of the sacred fire
 is represented by some secretly        
arranged pyrotechny1 and the credulous  
laity1 believing they have witnessed a  
miraculous display1 eagerly solicit     
,paschal candles lit from it2 and in    
imitation of the ancient festivities in 

honor of the return of spring1 all      
,catholic churches1 and most of         
,protestant ones1 are adorned with      
flowers1 the bells ring out their       
merriest peals1 and ,gloria in ,excelsis
 and other jubilant songs1 similar to   
the lays of the ancient ,hilaries1 are  
sung4   ,annunciation4  ,the anniversary
 of the ,nativity having been placed on 
the #beth of ,december1 according to the
 course of nature1 the #beth of ,march  
was anciently celebrated as the         
anniversary of the annunciation1 and is 
still observed on that day1 and the duty
 of saluting the ,virgin 7,virgo7 and   
announcing her conception by the ,holy  
,ghost or third person in the ,trinity  
was assigned to the genius of ,spring4  
,in the ,chaldean version of the ,gospel
 story the name of ,gabriel was given to
 this personification1 and in the       
,christian version of that story he is  
made to perform the same office2 see    
,luke i4 #bf-ce4   ,ascension4          
,celebrating the anniversary of the     

ascension forty days after ,easter1 it  
was anciently observed on the #dth of   
,may1 and it was taught that the        
incarnate saviours ascended bodily into 
heaven1 in a golden chariot drawn by    
four horses caparisoned with gilded     
trappings1 all glittering like fire in  
the fervid sunlight4 ,hence when we read
 in ,,ii4 ,kings ii4 #aa1 that ,there   
appeared a chariot of fire and horses of
 fire1 4 4 4 and ,elijah went up by a   
whirlwind into heaven1 we must accept   
this text as descriptive of the         
imaginary ascension of one of the       
incarnate saviours of ancient ,judaism4 
,assumption4  ,when the ,summer solstice
 was in the sign of ,cancer1 the sun was
 in that of ,virgo in the month of      
,august1 and the anniversary of the     
,assumption was observed on the #aeth of
 that month1 and is so observed at the  
present time4 ,the fact that the        
anniversary of the ,ascension precedes  
that of the ,assumption explains why    
,jesus is made to say to his mother     

7,virgo7 soon after his resurrection1   
,touch me not3 for ,i am not yet        
ascended to my ,father4 ,john xx4 #ag4  
,the ,lord's ,supper4  ,in the ancient  
solar worship the so-called ordinance of
 the ,lord's ,supper was observed just  
before the anniversary of the autumnal  
crucifixion2 and consisting of bread and
 wine1 in reference to the maturing of  
the crops and completion of the vintage1
 was1 like the modern festival of the   
hardest home1 a season of thankfulness  
to the ,lord 7,god ,sol7 as the giver of
 all good gifts4 ,hence being observed  
but once a year1 it was in reality not  
an ordinance but an anniversary2 and the
 fact that ,christians partake of these 
emblems so frequently during the year   
indicates that the original             
signification of the ,lord's ,supper has
 been lost4   ,transubstantiation1  or  
the conversion of the bread and wine    
into the veritable blood and body of    
,christ1 is a doctrine of the ,catholic 
church which was derived from the ritual

 of the ancient solar worship4  ,in the 
#bfth chapter of ,matthew we have an    
account of the ,lord administering the  
last supper to his ,disciples on the eve
 of the autumnal crucifixion1 and in    
verse #bg it reads that he took the cup1
 and gave thanks1 and gave it to them1  
saying1 ,drink ye all of it4 ,the       
compilers of the modern version of the  
,gospel story must surely have          
inadvertently copied this text as it    
read in the ancient versions of that    
old1 old story1 which1 when observed in 
remembrance of ,our ,lord and ,saviour  
,bacchus1 was called the ,bacchanalia1  
or feast1 of ,bacchus4 ,at these orgies 
the participants give thanks for the    
wine by not only drinking all of one    
cup1 but many more2 in fact they kept on
 drinking until they fell under the     
table4   ,autumnal ,crucifixion4  ,the  
beneficent seasons of ,spring and       
,summer coming to an end at the         
,autumnal ,equinox1 the #bb;d of        
,september was made the anniversary of  

the ,autumnal ,crucifixion4 ,the vernal 
resurrection and ,autumnal ,crucifixion1
 representing the alternate triumph of  
the personified principles of ,good and 
,evil1 as manifested in the diversity of
 the seasons2 we find appropriately     
expressed in two religious pictures4 ,in
 the one1 the ,saviour1 appealing as a  
vigorous young man1 surrounded by a     
brilliant halo1 representing the rays of
 the all-conquering ,sun of ,spring1 is 
rising triumphantly from the tomb1      
before whom the demon of ,winter1 or    
,devil1 is seen retreating in the       
background4 ,in the other1 the          
vanquished ,saviour1 represented by the 
figure of a lean and haggard man1 with a
 crown of thorns upon his head1 around  
which appears a faint halo of the ,sun's
 declining rays1 and above which is     
placarded the letters ,i4 ,n4 ,r4 ,i41  
the initial letters of ,latin words1    
signifying the life to come1 or the     
eternal life1 is suspended upon the     
cross1 at the foot of which his mother  

,mary 7,virgo7 is represented as        
kneeling in a mourning attitude1 and by 
her side is seen a serpent and a skull1 
the emblems of ,evil and of ,death4     
,see plate#e4;gif  plate#f4;gif         
,michaelmas4  ,in the calendar of the   
ancient ,astral ,worship1 the fourth day
 after the ,autumnal ,equinox was       
dedicated to the genius of ,autumn4 ,in 
the ,chaldean allegories the name of    
,michael was given to this              
personification1 and called ,michaelmas1
 or feast of ,michael4 ,in the ,catholic
 calendar this anniversary is placed an 
the #bith of ,september1 instead of the 
#bfth of that month1 while that of ,st4 
,matthew1 the ,christian genius of      
,autumn1 which should be placed on the  
#bfth of that month1 is observed on the 
#bast4  ,thus we have shown that the    
anniversaries of the ancient ,astral    
,worship were all fixed1 and from church
 history we learn that they were so     
observed by the ,christians until the   
,council of ,nice in the year #cbe1 when

 the ,bishops assembled at that         
celebrated convocation1 desiring to have
 the festival of ,easter celebrated on  
,sunday1 which had been made the        
,sabbath by the edict of ,constantine1  
in the year #cba1 ordered that it should
 be observed on the ,sunday of the full 
moon1 which comes on or next after the  
,vernal ,equinox4 ,hence1 converting it 
into a movable festival1 its allied     
feasts and fast days were also made     
movable4    ,,personifications ,,of     
,,the ,,divisions ,,of ,,time4  ,in the 
ancient solar fables the several        
divisions of time were personified and  
made to pay homage to the ,triune       
,deity1 supposed to be enthroned above  
the firmament4   ,the ,hours4  ,the     
genii of the hours were designated as   
,elders1 and we find them described in  
the #dth chapter of ,revelation as      
sitting round about the throne upon four
 and twenty seats1 clothed in white     
raiment1 and crowns of gold upon their  
heads4   ,the ,days4  ,each day of the  

year was appropriately personified1 and 
these genii of the days constitute the  
saints of the ,christian calendar4 ,of  
these we will refer to but one4         
,according to the ancient belief that   
the sun stood still for the space of    
three days at each of the cardinal      
points1 the #bdth of ,june was made the 
first of the decreasing days2 and       
dedicating it to ,st4 ,john the         
,baptist1 he is made to say in reference
 to his opposite1 7the genius of the    
#beth of ,december1 and first of the    
increasing days17 ,he must increase1 but
 ,i must decrease4 ,this text1 found in 
,john iii4 #cj1 simply means that the   
days of the one must increase in length1
 while the days of the other must       
decrease4   ,the ,months4  ,the fable of
 the twelve labors having been          
superseded by others1 in which the genii
 of the twelve signs of the ,zodiac1    
corresponding to the months1 were       
designated as angels1 and made to       
minister to ,god ,sol while making his  

apparent annual revolution2 but1 when   
constituted the attendants of the       
incarnate saviours during their         
imaginary earth life1 they were         
personified as men and called           
,disciples4 ,of these genii of the      
months we will refer only to the first  
and the last4 ,the first month1         
dedicated to the genius known in the    
mythology as ,janus1 and from which was 
derived the name ,january1 was portrayed
 with two faces1 the one of an old man  
looking mournfully backward over the old
 year1 and the other of a young man     
looking joyfully forward to the new     
year4 ,this personification1 made the   
opener of the year1 and represented as  
holding a pair of cross-keys1 was called
 ,the carrier of the keys of the kingdom
 of heaven4 ,hence1 the ,popes of ,rome1
 claiming apostolic succession from     
,peter1 the ,janus of the ,christian    
twelve1 wear cross-keys as the insignia 
of their office4 ,sometimes a crosier1  
or shepherd's crook1 is substituted for 

one of the keys1 in reference to his    
arrogated office of the leader of the   
sheep6 ,the authority for the assumption
 that the ,popes are ,peter's successors
 is found in ,matthew xvi4 #ah1 #ai2 but
 its fallacy becomes apparent when we   
bear in mind that the scriptures are but
 collections of astronomical allegories1
 and that the ,peter referred to in the 
text was not a man1 but the mythical    
genius of the month of ,january4  ,in   
reference to the last month1 we find    
that the authors of the ancient solar   
fables1 ever doubting whether ,god ,sol1
 after inaugurating ,winter by his      
supposed retreat from the earth1 would  
return to revivify nature with his      
life-giving rays1 gave to the genius of 
the twelfth month the title of the      
,doubter4 ,in the ,christian calendar   
this personification is known as        
,thomas1 and a more specific dedication 
of the shortest day of the year having  
been made to him1 the #bast day of      
,december is called ,st4 ,thomas day4   

,the ,seasons4  ,when the cardinal      
points were in the constellations ,leo1 
,taurus1 ,aquarius and ,scorpio1 the    
astrologers1 objecting to the           
signification of the latter1 substituted
 the constellation in conjunction       
therewith1 which is known as ,aquila    
7,ak-we-la7 or ,flying ,eagle4 ,in the  
allegorical astronomy of that remote    
period these genii of the seasons were  
designated as beasts1 and as such we    
find them referred to in ,revelation iv4
 #g1 which reads as follows3 ,and the   
first beast was like a lion 7,leo71 and 
the second beast like a calf 7,taurus1  
the bull calf71 and the third beast had 
a face as a man1 7,aquarius1 the        
waterman7 and the fourth beast was like 
a flying eagle 7,aquila74 ,in the first 
chapter of ,ezekiel1 the prophet1 the   
genii of the seasons are referred to in 
the same manner4  ,these genii of the   
seasons1 standing1 imaginarily1 at the  
four corners of the heavens1 were called
 corner-keepers1 and making them        

witnesses to ,god ,sol in his apparent  
annual revolution1 the founders of the  
,astral ,worship designated them as     
,archangels1 ,evangelists1              
,god-,spellers or ,gospel-,bearers1 and 
claiming inspiration from them1 composed
 four different histories of the birth  
and earth-life of the incarnate saviour1
 to each of which they attached a name1 
and called these records the ,gospel    
story4 ,in its ,chaldean version1 the   
names of ,gabriel1 ,michael1 ,raphael   
and ,uriel were given them2 but while   
the first two of these are mentioned in 
the ,christian ,gospel story1 its       
authors gave to the ,evangelists the    
names of ,matthew1 ,mark1 ,luke and     
,john4 ,thus knowing the true           
signification of the ,disciples and     
,evangelists1 the very pertinent        
question presents itself3 ,if they are  
not the genii of the months and the     
seasons1 why are there just twelve of   
the one and four of the other8  ,see    
plate#g4;gif   ,half ,year of           

,increasing ,days4  ,in the ancient     
astrolatry1 the half year of increasing 
days1 extending from the ,winter to the 
,summer ,solstice1 was personified by   
the composite figure representing the   
constellations of ,taurus and ,aquarius1
 which1 constituted of the winged body  
of a bull and the head and beard of a   
man1 was called the ,cherubim4 ,this    
personification we find portrayed upon  
the ,assyrian marbles on exhibition in  
the ,british ,museum4   ,half ,year of  
,decreasing ,days4  ,the half year of   
decreasing days1 extending from the     
,summer to the ,winter ,solstice1 was   
personified by the figure1 which1       
representing the constellations of ,leo 
and ,aquila1 and composed of the winged 
body and limbs of a lion1 with the head 
of an eagle1 was called the ,seraphim4  
,these last two personifications        
constituted the ,archangels of the      
ancient ,astral ,worship4   ,last       
,quarter of the ,year4  ,the last       
quarter of the year was personified in  

the ancient allegories as a decrepit old
 man1 who1 stung by a ,scorpion         
7,scorpio71 and fatally wounded by an   
arrow from the quiver of an archer      
7,saggitarius7 dies at the ,winter      
,solstice2 and1 after lying in the grave
 for the space of three days1 is brought
 to life again4 ,such was the           
personification referred to in the      
,christian ,gospel-story as having been 
raised from the grave by the mandate1   
,come forth1 ,lazarus4 ,thus have we    
shown that the elders and the saints2   
the angels1 and the ,archangels2 the    
,cherubim and ,seraphim2 and also poor  
old ,lazarus1 are but personifications  
of the several divisions of time4       
,,zodiacal ,,symbols ,,of ,,solar       
,,worship4  ,having shown that the      
founders of the ancient astrolatry      
accorded homage to ,god ,sol as ,lord of
 ,evil1 under the symbol of the serpent1
 and marked the beginning of his reign1 
as such1 by the constellation ,serpens  
placed in conjunction with the ,autumnal

 ,equinox2 we will now direct attention 
to the symbols under which he was       
worshipped as ,lord of ,good1 which1    
corresponding to the form of the        
constellation in which occurred the     
,vernal ,equinox1 and which was changed 
to correspond to the form of the        
succeeding constellation as that        
,cardinal point passed into it1 by that 
process1 known in ,astronomy1 as the    
precession of the ,equinoxes1 its       
explanation becomes essential to a      
correct understanding of our subject4   
,after long observation1 aided by the   
telescope1 of which they were           
undoubtedly the original inventors1 the 
ancient ,astrologers discovered that the
 ,sun1 in making his apparent annual    
revolution1 did not return to the same  
point in the heavens1 but fell behind   
that of the preceding year1 at the rate 
of #ej #a_/d seconds of a degree        
annually4 ,at this rate of precession1  
which modern1 calculation has confirmed1
 it requires #ga #b-c years for the     

,cardinal points to pass through one    
degree on the ,ecliptic1 and #baej years
 through thirty degrees1 or one sign of 
the ,zodiac4 ,the knowledge of this     
process affording an exact chronology1  
we are enabled1 not only to determine   
the origin of these symbols1 but to     
approximate1 very nearly1 to the        
respective dates of their adoption4     
,the ,sphinx4  ,from the teachings of   
,astronomy we learn that the ,summer    
,solstice is now occupying the point    
between the signs of ,taurus and        
,gemini1 from which we know that that   
,cardinal point has passed through three
 whole signs since it was between the   
signs of ,leo and ,virgo1 and we have   
but to multiply #b1aej by #c to         
determine that it has been about #f1dej 
years ago4 ,hence1 the tourist to the   
,nile valley1 when viewing1 near the    
base of old ,cheops1 the great ,egyptian
 pyramid1 a colossal head and bust of a 
woman1 carved in stone1 and learns that 
it is attached to a body1 in the form of

 a lion in a crouching attitude #adf    
feet long1 hidden beneath the shifting  
sands of the ,libyan desert2 if         
possessed of the knowledge of the       
precession of the ,equinoxes1 he will be
 enabled to solve the riddle of the     
,sphinx by recognizing in that grotesque
 monument the mid-summer symbol of solar
 worship1 when the ,summer ,solstice was
 between the signs of ,leo and ,virgo4  
,the ,dragon4  ,when the ,summer        
,solstice was between the signs of ,leo 
and ,virgo1 the ,winter ,solstice was   
between those of ,aquarius and ,pisces1 
and the figure composed of the body of a
 man with the tail of a fish became the 
mid-winter symbol of solar worship4     
,such was the form of this symbol to    
which the ancient ,phoenicians paid     
homage to the ,lord under the name of   
,dagon4   ,the ,bull4  ,at the same time
 the ,summer ,solstice entered the sign 
of ,leo1 the ,vernal ,equinox entered   
that of ,taurus1 and the bull becoming  
the spring symbol of solar worship--the 

,lord was designated in the ancient     
allegories as the bull of ,god which    
taketh away the sin of the world2 which1
 shorn of its allegorical sense1        
signifies the sun in ,taurus1 or sun of 
spring1 which taketh away the evil of   
,winter4 ,such is the purport of        
hieroglyphical inscriptions upon papyrus
 rolls found in ,egypt1 and engraved    
upon obelisks erected in the ,nile      
valley1 one of which has been recently  
brought to the ,city of ,new ,york and  
set up in ,central ,park4 ,in the ,east 
,indies this symbol was represented by  
the figure of a bull with the solar disk
 between his horns2 and the ,egyptians1 
who were of ,hindoo origin1 perpetuating
 it in their ,apis1 it was reproduced in
 the golden calf of the ancient         
,israelites4 ,the ,assyrians represented
 this symbol by the figure of a winged  
bull with the face and beard of a man2  
the ,phoenicians1 in their ,baal1 by the
 figure of a man with a bull's head and 
horns2 and the small silver bull's heads

 with golden horns1 recently discovered 
by ,dr4 ,schliemann in the ruins of     
,mycenae1 were jewels worn by the women 
of that ancient city1 when the ,vernal  
,equinox was in the sign of ,taurus4    
,the ,ram4  ,by deducting #b1aej years  
from #f1dej1 we determine that about    
#d1cjj years2 ago the ,vernal ,equinox  
entered the sign of ,aries1 and the     
spring symbol of solar worship1 changing
 from the bull to the ram1 was          
represented by ram-headed figures1 two  
of which1 found in ,egypt1 are on       
exhibition in the ,british ,museum4     
,then the text which read the bull of   
,god1 was changed to the ,ram of ,god   
which taketh away the sins of the world4
   ,the ,lamb4  ,ultimately attaching a 
meek and lowly disposition to the       
imaginary incarnations of the mythical  
genius of the sun1 the symbol of the ram
 was changed to that of the lamb1 and   
the text in the allegories1 which read  
the ,ram of ,god1 was changed to read   
,the ,lamb of ,god which taketh away the

 sin of the ,world1 ,john i1 #bi4 ,the  
explanation we have given relative to   
the ,zodiacal ,symbols of solar worship 
makes the assurance doubly sure that the
 originals of the ,new ,testament were  
composed when the ,vernal ,equinox was  
in the sign of ,aries1 as will be shown 
hereafter4 ,having adopted the symbol of
 the lamb1 it was represented by several
 forms of what is known as ,agnus ,dei1 
or ,lamb of ,god1 one of which was in   
the form of a bleeding lamb with a vase 
attached into which blood is flowing1   
which originated in reference to the    
shedding of blood as a vicarious        
atonement for sin4 ,but the most        
comprehensive form of this symbol in its
 astronomical signification1 was        
represented by the figure of a lamb in a
 standing attitude1 supporting the      
circle of the ,zodiac1 divided into     
quarters to denote the seasons4 ,at each
 of the cardinal points there was a     
small cross1 and the lamb held in its   
uplifted fore-foot a larger cross1 the  

long arm of which was made to cut the   
celestial equator at the angle of #bc   
#a_/b degrees1 the true angle of        
obliquity of the ,ecliptic4 ,this symbol
 is still retained in the ,catholic     
,church4  ,see plate#h4;gif   ,the      
,fish4  ,by deducting #b1aej years from 
#d1cjj we determine that about #b1aej   
years ago the ,vernal ,equinox entered  
the sign of ,pisces2 and although the   
original version of the ,new ,testament 
was founded upon the symbol of the lamb1
 it is a historical fact that for       
centuries after the beginning of our    
era1 the ,christians paid homage to the 
,lord under the symbol of the fish2 but 
ultimately going into desuetude1 the    
lamb was retained as the distinguishing 
symbol of the ,christian religion until 
the year #fhj1 at which date another was
 substituted1 as will be shown under our
 next heading4    ,,signs ,,op ,,the    
,,cross4  ,among the numerous symbols of
 solar worship1 besides those we have   
already referred to1 there are three to 

which we will direct attention4 ,two of 
these were of astronomical              
signification3 the one adopted when the 
,spring ,equinox was in the sign of     
,taurus and shaped like the letter ,t1  
was the model after which the ancient   
temples were built2 and the other1      
shaped like the letter ,x1 in reference 
to the angle of #bc #a_/b degrees made  
by the crossing of the ,ecliptic and the
 ,celestial equator1 is known as ,st4   
,andrew's ,cross4 ,the third1 and most  
important of all the symbols of solar   
worship1 in its relation to the         
,christian religion1 which1 having no   
astronomical signification1 originated  
in ,egypt1 in reference to the annual   
inundation of the river ,nile4 ,to mark 
the height to which the water should    
rise to secure an abundant harvest1     
posts were planted upon its banks to    
which cross beams were attached thus 4  
,if the water should rise to the        
designated height1 it was called the    
waters of life1 or river of life2 and1  

ultimately1 this form of the cross was  
adopted as the symbol of the life to    
come1 or eternal life2 and the ancient  
astrologers had it engraved upon stone1 
encircled with a hieroglyphical         
inscription to that effect1 one of which
 was discovered in the ruins of the     
temple erected at ,alexandria1 and      
dedicated to our ,lord and ,saviour     
,serapis4  ,but1 if the water failed to 
rise to the required height1 and the    
horrors of starvation becoming the      
inevitable result1 it was the custom of 
the people to nail to these crosses     
symbolical personifications of the      
,demon of ,famine4 ,to indicate the     
sterility of the domain over which he   
reigned1 he was represented by the      
figure of a lean and haggard man1 with a
 crown of thorns upon his head2 a reed  
cut from the river's bank was placed in 
his hands1 as his unreal sceptre2 and1  
considering the inhabitants of ,judea as
 the most slavish and mean-spirited race
 in their knowledge1 they placarded this

 figure with the inscription3 ,this is  
the ,king of the ,jews4 ,thus1 to the   
ancient ,egyptians1 this sign of the    
cross was blessed or accursed as it was 
represented with1 or without1 this      
figure suspended upon it4  ,when the    
,roman1 or modern1 form of ,christianity
 was instituted1 the hieroglyphical     
inscription signifying the life to come 
or eternal life was substituted by a    
placard nailed to the cross with the    
letters ,i4 ,n4 ,r4 ,i4 inscribed upon  
it1 which are the initials of the ,latin
 words conveying the same meaning4 ,but 
if we would learn how the figure of a   
man came to be suspended upon this form 
of the cross1 we must refer to          
,mediaeval ,history1 which teaches that 
in the year #fhj1 under the ,pontificate
 of ,agathon1 and during the reign of   
,constantine ,pogonat1 at the sixth     
council of the church1 and third at     
,constantinople1 it was ordered in      
,canon #hb that ,instead of a lamb1 the 
figure of a man nailed to a cross should

 be the distinguishing symbol of the    
,christian religion4 ,now1 as this      
figure is represented by that of a lean 
and haggard man1 with a crown of thorns 
upon his head1 does it not look as if   
the old ,egyptian ,demon of ,famine was 
the model after which it was            
constructed8    ,,future ,,rewards ,,and
 ,,punishments4  ,in the ancient        
,astrolatry1 two different systems of   
future rewards and punishments were     
inculcated2 the ,oriental or ,east      
,indian1 and the ,occidental or         
,egyptian2 the former1 ignoring the     
resurrection of the body1 taught but one
 judgment immediately after death1 and  
the latter inculcated an individual     
judgment immediately after death1 the   
resurrection of the body1 and a general 
judgment at the end of the world1 or    
conclusion of the #ab1jjj year cycle4   
,the ,oriental ,system4  ,considering   
perfect happiness to consist in absolute
 rest1 the ,oriental astrologers        
conceived a state of eternal and        

unconscious repose1 equivalent to soul  
absorption1 to which they gave the name 
of ,nirvana1 into which they taught     
that1 by the awards of the gods1 the    
souls of the righteous1 or those who had
 lived what they called the             
contemplative life1 would be permitted  
to enter immediately after death4 ,but1 
for the souls of sinners1 they invented 
a system of expiatory punishments which1
 known as the ,metempsychosis1 or       
transmigration of souls1 taught that    
they would be compelled to successively 
animate the bodies of beasts1 birds1    
fishes1 etc41 for a thousand years      
before being permitted to enter the     
,nirvana4   ,the ,occidental ,system4   
,in concocting the doctrine of the first
 judgment the ,egyptian astrologers1    
ignoring the ,nirvana1 inculcated the   
future sentient existence of the soul2  
and1 while retaining the                
,metempsychotial expiations of the      
,oriental system1 taught that its       
rewards1 and principal punishments1     

would be enjoyed or suffered in the     
under or nether world1 the existence of 
which they had conceived in constructing
 their system of nature4 ,this imaginary
 region1 known to the ,egyptians as the 
,amenti1 to the ,greeks as ,hades1 and  
to the ,hebrews as ,sheol1 was divided  
by an impassable gulf into the two      
states of happiness and misery which    
were designated in the ,grecian         
mythology as the ,elysium1 or ,elysian  
,fields1 and the ,tartarus4 ,in the     
lower part of the latter was located the
 ,phlegethon1 or lake of fire and       
brimstone1 the smoke from which ascended
 into an upper apartment4  ,in this     
system it was taught that the souls of  
the two extremes of society1 constituted
 of the righteous and the great sinners1
 would be consigned immediately after   
the first judgment1 the one to the      
,elysium1 and the other to the          
,phlegethon1 where they were to remain  
until the second or general judgment2   
while the souls of less venial sinners1 

constituting the greater mass of        
mankind1 before being permitted to enter
 the ,elysium would be compelled to     
suffer the expiatory punishments of the 
,metempsychosis1 or in the upper region1
 or smoky row of the ,tartarus4 ,such   
was the ,egyptian purgatory1 and its    
denizens constituted the spirits in     
prison referred to in ,i4 ,peter iii4   
#ai1 from which the astrologers claimed 
to have the power to release1 provided  
their surviving friends paid liberally  
for their propitiatory offices2 and1    
from this assumption1 the clergy of the 
,catholic church derived the idea of    
saying masses for the repose of the     
soul4 ,these doctrines were carried by  
,pythagoras from ,egypt to ,greece about
 #eej years before the beginning of our 
era2 and passing from thence to ,rome1  
the ,greek and ,latin poets vied with   
each other in portraying ,hades and the 
joys and terrors of its two states4     
,the ,second or ,general ,judgment4     
,the ,egyptian ,astrologers1 recognizing

 the soul as a material entity1 and     
conceiving the idea that in the future  
life it would require a material        
organization for its perfect action1    
taught that at the general judgment it  
would be re-united to its resurrected   
body4 ,in conformity to this belief1    
,job is made to say in chapter xix4 #be1
 #bf1 ,i know that my ,redeemer liveth1 
and that he shall stand at the latter   
day upon the earth2 and though worms    
destroy this body1 yet in my flesh shall
 ,i see ,god4 ,the higher class         
,egyptians1 however1 fearing that their 
existence would continue to be of the   
same shadowy and intangible character   
after the second judgment1 as they      
believed it would be in the ,amenti1 if 
worms were allowed to destroy their     
bodies1 hoped to preserve them until    
that time by the process of embalming4  
,the imaginary events to occur in       
connection with the second judgment1    
which1 constituting the finale of the   
plan of redemption1 and inculcated in   

what are known as the doctrines of      
,second ,adventism1 were to be          
inaugurated by an archangel sounding a  
trumpet summoning the quick and the dead
 to appear before the bar of the gods to
 receive their final awards4 ,at the    
second judgment1 designated in the      
allegories as the last day1 day of      
judgment1 great and terrible day of the 
,lord1 etc41 it was taught that the     
tenth and last saviour would make his   
second advent by descending upon the    
clouds1 and after the final awards1 the 
elect being caught up to meet the ,lord 
in the air 7,i4 ,thes4 iv4 #ag71 the    
heaven and the earth would be reduced to
 chaos through the agency of fire4 ,in  
reference to that grand catastrophe we  
find it recorded in ,,ii4 ,peter iii4   
#aj1 that the heavens shall pass away   
with a great noise and the elements     
shall melt with fervent heat1 the earth 
also and the works that are therein     
shall be burned up4  ,after the         
organization of a new heaven and a new  

earth it was taught that upon the latter
 would descend a beautiful city1 with   
pearly gates and golden streets1 called 
the ,city of ,god1 the ,kingdom of ,god1
 the ,kingdom of ,heaven or ,new        
,jerusalem1 in which the host of the    
redeemed would1 with their ,lord and    
,saviour1 enjoy the ,millennium1 or     
thousand years of happiness unalloyed   
with evil2 and such was the ,kingdom for
 the speedy coming of which the votaries
 of ,astral worship were taught to pray 
in what is known as the ,lord's ,prayer4
  ,according to the teachings of the    
,allegories1 there were to be no sun1   
moon or stars during the ,millennium1   
their authors having arranged it so that
 the light of those luminaries would not
 be needed1 as we find recorded in ,rev4
 xxi4 #bc1 and xxii4 #e3 ,the city had  
no need of the sun1 neither of the moon 
to shine in it2 for the glory of ,god   
did lighten it1 and there shall be no   
night there2 and they need no candle1   
neither the light of the sun2 for the   

,lord ,god giveth them light4 ,it must  
be remembered1 when reading the fanciful
 ideas relative to the ,city of ,god1   
that they were composed by men who1     
living in a very ignorant age1 gave free
 rein to fervid imaginations4           
,,jewish ,,or ,,ancient ,,christianity4 
,it is our purpose to present the       
evidences showing that a system of      
,astral worship1 which we designate as  
,jewish ,christianity1 was in existence 
more than two centuries and a half      
before the institution of its modern    
form4 ,in verification of this assertion
 we must find the initial point of our  
inquiry in ancient history1 which       
teaches that in the division of the     
,grecian ,empire among his generals1    
after the death of ,alexander the       
,great1 who died #ccb years before the  
beginning of our era1 the governorship  
of ,egypt and adjacent provinces was    
secured by ,ptolemy ,lagus1 or ,soter1  
who1 having subsequently suppressed a   
revolt in ,judea1 removed from that     

country a large body of its inhabitants 
to people the new city of ,alexandria1  
which had been laid out by order of and 
named after the great ,conqueror4  ,the 
,egyptian version of the ,gospel story1 
being more appropriate to the ,nile     
,valley than to the region from whence  
they came1 the ,greek colonists of      
,alexandria adopted it1 but preferring  
to pay homage to ,serapis1 one of the   
ninth incarnations of ,god ,sol1 which  
they imported from ,pontus1 a ,greek    
province of ,asia ,minor1 they erected  
to his worship that celebrated temple   
known as the ,grand ,serapium2 and1     
transferring the culture and refinement 
of ,greece to the new city1 it became1  
under the ,ptolemian dynasty1 a great   
seat of learning2 the arts and sciences 
flourished1 an immense library was      
collected1 the various forms of ,astral 
worship were represented and schools for
 the dissemination of the several phases
 of ,grecian philosophy and ,oriental   
,gnosticism were founded4  ,such being  

the environment of the ,jewish residents
 of ,alexandria1 they soon acquired the 
vernacular and adopted the religion of  
the ,greeks1 who1 having ever attached  
to their incarnate saviours the title   
signifying the ,christ1 or the anointed1
 were known as ,christians4 ,encouraged 
by the liberal policy of ,philadelphus1 
the second ,ptolemy1 a body of their    
learned men1 who had been educated in   
the ,greek schools1 founded a college   
for the education of their own people1  
which institution was ultimately known  
as the ,university of ,alexandria4      
,under the auspices of ,philadelphus the
 professors of that institution rendered
 their ,hebrew sacred records into the  
,greek language1 which translation is   
known as the ,septuagint1 or            
,alexandrian version of the ,old        
,testament4  ,having acquired from the  
,egyptian astrologers the arts of       
healing1 thaumaturgy and necromancy1 and
 teaching them in their school1 the     
professors of the ,jewish college of    

,alexandria assumed the title of        
,essenes1 or ,therapeutae1 the ,egyptian
 and ,greek words signifying ,doctors1  
,healers or ,wonder ,workers4 ,possessed
 of the sad and gloomy characteristics  
of their race1 they adopted the         
,contemplative ,life1 or asceticism of  
the ,oriental ,gnosticism1 from which   
they derived the name of ,ascetics4     
,founding a church for the propagation  
of their peculiar tenets1 those who were
 set apart for the ministry assumed the 
title of ,ecclesiastics4 ,inculcating   
rigid temperance and self-denial among  
their people1 they were known as        
,enchratites1 ,nazarites or ,abstainers2
 and the more devout among them retiring
 to monasteries1 or to the solitude of  
caves and other secluded places1 were   
also designated as ,monks1 ,cenobites1  
,friars1 ,eremites1 ,hermits or         
,solitaries4  ,the time having arrived1 
according to the cyclic teachings of    
,astral worship1 for the manifestation  
of the tenth and last incarnation of    

,god ,sol1 or1 in other words1 to1 give 
a new name to the mythical genius of the
 sun1 the professors of the ,jewish     
school of ,alexandria is resolved to    
inaugurate their own form of worship4   
,while retaining the same title under   
which they had paid homage to ,serapis  
and known as ,christians1 ,essenes or   
,therapeutae1 they substituted for their
 ,christ the name of the ,grecian       
,bacchus1 which1 composed of the letters
 ,greek3 ,,iota1 ,,eta1 ,,sigma1        
signifies ,yes1 ,ies or ,jes4 ,in       
composing their version of the ,gospel  
story1 having1 like their race1 no      
inventive genius1 they appropriated that
 of ,serapis as its basis and laid its  
scene in the land of their ancestry1 but
 inconsistently retained the sign of the
 cross and the phraseology connected    
there with1 which1 having special       
reference to the ,nile ,river and its   
annual inundation1 had no application   
whatever to the sterile land of ,judea4 
,selecting what they conceived to be the

 best from other versions of the ,gospel
 story1 and assuming the title of       
,eclectics1 they designated their system
 as the ,eclectic ,philosophy4 ,in proof
 of the eclectic character of the       
,gospel and ,epistles of ancient        
,christianity1 we refer to the          
,asceticism inculcated therein1 which1  
derived from the ,oriental ,gnosticism1 
we find perpetuated in the scriptures of
 modern ,christianity2 we also refer to 
the miracle of converting water into    
wine1 taken from the ,gospel story of   
,bacchus1 and to the statements that the
 ,saviour was the son of a carpenter and
 was hung between two thieves1 copied   
from the story of ,christna1 the        
,eighth1 ,avatar of the ,east ,indian   
astrolatry4 ,thus we see that1 although 
the scene of the ,gospel story of       
ancient ,christianity was laid in the   
land of ,judea1 its authors having      
adopted a ,greek version of that story  
as its basis1 given a ,greek title and  
name to their ,messiah1 perpetuated a   

,greek name for their sect and quoted   
exclusively from the ,septuagint1 or    
,greek version of the ,old ,testament1  
the facts show conclusively that it was 
not ,jews of ,judea1 but ,hellenized    
,jews of ,alexandria1 who were the real 
authors of the ancient ,christianity4   
,,the ,,prophecies4  ,the clergy having 
ever claimed that the prophecies are    
,divine revelations of events yet to    
occur1 and having incessantly agitated  
society by preaching their speedy       
fulfillment1 we propose to expose the   
fallacy of their teachings by showing   
that these scriptures are not the       
records of future events1 ,divinely     
reavealed1 but that they originated with
 the founders of ,astral worship1 who   
predicated them upon predetermined      
events of their own concoction1 relative
 to the general judgment1 and setting up
 of the kingdom of heaven1 which were to
 occur as the finale of the plan of     
redemption and from which were derived  
the doctrines of second adventism2 and1 

in determining the exact time when then 
were to occur1 we have but to prove that
 it was coincident with the conclusion  
of the last half of the grand cycle of  
#ab1jjj years1 which1 as we have shown1 
was dedicated to man as the duration of 
his race on earth4  ,as evidence that   
the founders of the ,jewish or ancient  
,christianity believed1 like the        
votaries of other forms of ,astral      
worship1 that the prophecies were soon  
to be fulfilled1 we find that the ,new  
,testament1 of the original version of  
which they were the authors1 is replete 
with such texts as ,repent1 for the     
,kingdom of ,heaven is at hand1 ,matt4  
iv4 #ag2 ,there be some standing here   
which shall not taste death till they   
see the ,son of ,man coming in ,his     
kingdom1 ,matt4 xxi4 #bh2 ,the time is  
fulfilled1 and the ,kingdom of ,god is  
at hand1 ,mark i4 #ae4 ,that the        
original version of the ,new ,testament 
was composed when the ,vernal ,equinox  
was in the sign of ,aries we are assured

 by reason of the fact that it          
inculcates homage to the ,lord under the
 symbol of the ,lamb2 and that it was   
during the last1 or #cjth degree of that
 sign1 can readily be proven by         
appealing to history and to astronomy1  
the former of which teaches that the    
,jews were removed from ,judea to       
,alexandria twenty-five years before the
 accession to the throne of             
,philadelphus1 the ,second ,ptolemy1 to 
whom we have referred in our preceding  
article1 and who1 after reigning        
thirty-nine years1 died #bdf years      
before the beginning of our era4 ,by    
reference to the ,celestial atlas we    
will find that the ,vernal ,equinox will
 pass out of the sign of ,pisces into   
that of ,aquarius1 or in the year #aijj1
 and we have but to deduct that period  
of time from #baej1 the number of years 
required for the cardinal points to pass
 through one whole sign1 to determine   
that the ,spring ,equinox passed out of 
the sign of ,aries into that of ,pisces 

#bej years before the beginning of our  
era1 or about #b1ajj years ago4 ,now1   
from the projections of the astrological
 science1 we are assured that the last  
half of the grand cycle of #ab1jjj      
years1 which was allotted to man as the 
duration of his race on earth1 was made 
to begin at a time corresponding to the 
,autumnal ,equinox1 when that cardinal  
point was passing out of the sign of    
,virgo1 and that of necessity it had to 
come to an end at a time corresponding  
to the ,vernal ,equinox1 when that      
cardinal point was passing out of the   
sign of ,aries2 from which we know why1 
at the last judgment1 the office of     
trumpeter was assigned to the ,archangel
 ,gabriel1 the genius of ,spring1 and   
why it was a ram's horn with which he   
was to toot the crack o' doom4  ,when   
the time arrived for the fulfillment of 
the prophecies we can well imagine that1
 fearing the wrath of the ,lamb1 there  
were weeping1 wailing and gnashing of   
teeth among the terror-stricken sinners1

 while those who believed they had made 
their calling and election sure were    
looking with feverish expectancy for the
 second advent of their ,lord and       
,saviour2 and1 doubtless1 clothed with  
their ascension robes1 they watched and 
waited1 with ears alert1 to hear the    
sound of ,gabriel's trumpet1 summoning  
the quick1 and the dead to the general  
judgment4 ,but not a blast from the     
archangel's ram's horn was heard        
reverberating along the skies1 no ,lord 
appeared descending upon the clouds to  
meet the elect in the air1 and1 in the  
last act of the fearful drama of        
judgment day1 the curtain refused to be 
rung down upon a burning world4  ,with  
the non-fulfillment of the prophecies1  
the more enlightened elements of society
 began to scoff at the priests1 who were
 temporarily demoralized1 but true to   
their deceptive instincts1 soon rallying
 with the plea of a mistake having been 
made in the calculations based upon the 
prophecies1 they undoubtedly concocted  

scripture to meet that very emergency1  
for1 to the taunts of the scoffers who1 
in reference to the second advent of the
 ,lord1 enquired ,where is the sign of  
,his coming8 for1 since the fathers fell
 asleep1 all things continue as they    
were from the beginning of creation1    
they answered that ,the ,lord is not    
slack concerning ,his promise1 but as a 
thief in the night he would soon come   
and all things be fulfilled4 ,see ,,ii4 
,peter1 chapter iii4  ,following up the 
history of this interesting subject1 we 
find that the founders of modern        
,christianity1 to which we will refer in
 our next article1 in composing their   
version of the ,new ,testament from that
 of the ,jewish1 or ancient ,christians1
 made no change in its verbiage relative
 to the prophecies2 but when            
,constantine ,i41 ,emperor of ,rome1    
became the patron of the church1 her    
hierarchy1 tired of figuring upon them1 
secured a long respite from that        
troublesome subject by claiming to have 

made other calculations1 which put off  
the time of fulfillment to the year     
#ajjj2 and from history we learn when   
the time arrived the whole of           
,christendom was fearfully agitated upon
 the subject3 ,since then every         
generation has been vexed with the      
fallacies of second adventism2 and the  
facts of the case justify the charge    
that the clergy1 by teaching that the   
prophecies refer to events yet to occur1
 are perpetuating a most stupendous     
fraud upon ,christendom1 and an earnest 
and efficient protest should be         
inaugurated against the further         
agitation of the monstrous delusion of  
second adventism1 which is frightening  
thousands of weak-minded people into    
insanity and causing a vast amount of   
social distress4    ,,roman ,,or        
,,modern ,,christianity4  ,having       
presented the evidences that the        
,jewish1 or ancient ,christianity1      
originated at the ,university of        
,alexandria1 under ,greek rule1 we now  

propose to show that its modern form    
emanated from the same source1 under    
,roman rule2 but1 before entering upon  
this investigation1 it is important to  
become conversant with the sentiments   
manifested towards religion by the      
cultured element of ,roman society in   
that enlightened era1 which1 designated 
as the golden age of literature1 was    
adorned by such distinguished orators1  
philosophers1 historians1 poets and     
naturalists as ,cicero1 ,tacitus1       
,pliny1 ,horace and ,virgil4 ,in        
reference to this subject1 ,gibbon1 in  
his history of ,the ,decline and ,fall  
of the ,roman ,empire1 vol4 ,i41 chapter
 #b1 says3 ,the various modes of worship
 which prevailed in the ,roman world    
were all considered by the people as    
equally true1 by the philosophers as    
equally false and by the magistrate as  
equally useful4 ,both the interests of  
the priests and the credulity of the    
people were sufficiently respected4 ,in 
their writings and conversation the     

philosophers of antiquity asserted the  
independent dignity of reason1 but they 
resigned their actions to the commands  
of law and custom4 ,viewing with a smile
 of pity and indulgence the various     
errors of the vulgar1 they diligently   
practiced the ceremonies of their       
fathers1 devoutly frequented the temples
 of the gods1 and sometimes             
condescending to act a part on the      
theatre of superstition1 they concealed 
the sentiments of an atheist under the  
sacerdotal robe4 ,reasoners of such a   
temper were scarcely inclined to wrangle
 about their respective modes of faith  
or of worship4 ,it was indifferent to   
them what shape the folly of the        
multitude might choose to assume1 and   
they approached with the same inward    
contempt and the same external reverence
 to the altars of the ,lybian1 the      
,olympian or the ,capitoline ,jupiter4  
,upon the same subject ,mosheim1 in his 
church history1 ,book ,i41 chapter #a1  
says that ,the wiser part of mankind1   

about the time of ,christ's birth1      
looked upon the whole system of religion
 as a just object of contempt and       
ridicule4  ,in determining why such     
adverse sentiments were entertained     
towards religion by the wiser part of   
mankind1 about the time referred to in  
the foregoing quotations1 it will be    
found to have been owing to the         
extensive spread of the ,esoteric       
philosophy1 which taught1 as previously 
stated1 that the gods were mythical and 
the scriptures allegorical4 ,while      
attainable only through initiation1 it  
was necessarily confined to a limited   
number1 but1 ultimately getting beyond  
the control of the priests and vast     
numbers acquiring the knowledge of its  
secrets without initiation1 it became   
evident that it was but a question of   
time when there would be no respectable 
element left to sustain religion4 ,at   
this juncture our attention is directed 
to the ,university of ,alexandria1      
which1 at that time1 was in a           

flourishing condition4 ,having ceased to
 be an exclusively ,jewish school1      
students from all parts of the ,roman   
,empire1 without regard to nationality1 
were attending it1 and its professors   
were drawn from the ranks of both       
,jewish and ,gentile scholars4          
,realizing the hopelessness of reviving 
the ancient faith among the enlightened 
clement of society1 and the             
impossibility of proselyting them to a  
new form of superstition1 these         
professors resolved to institute a      
system of worship exclusively for the   
,jews and the lower and neglected       
classes of ,gentiles1 including the     
slaves and criminals4 ,to that end they 
rewrote the scriptures of the ,jewish or
 ancient ,christianity1 which had been  
preserved among the secret archives of  
the ,university4 ,retaining their       
teachings relative to the finale of the 
plan of redemption1 and its monasticism2
 also the land of ,judea as the scene of
 its version of the ,gospel story1 and  

the name of its saviour1 to which they  
added the ,latin terminal us1 thus      
making it ,iesus or ,jesus1 they        
perpetuated the ,greek name of          
,bacchus--the same that was ultimately  
perverted into the monogram which1      
consisting of the ,roman letters ,i4 ,h4
 ,s41 is found in all ,catholic         
churches1 and in some ,protestant ones1 
is falsely supposed to stand for ,jesus 
,hominum ,salvator1 or ,jesus1 ,saviour 
of ,men4 ,conforming their version of   
the ,gospel story to the lowly condition
 of its expected votaries1 they attached
 to the saviour the characteristics of  
poverty1 and made it teach that he was  
born in a manger1 that his disciples    
were but humble fishermen and that the  
poor would be the only elect in the     
kingdom of heaven4 ,dropping the name of
 ,essenes or ,therapeutae1 and retaining
 that of ,christian1 they incorporated a
 thread of real history corresponding to
 the reign of ,augustus1 and arbitrarily
 made the ,christian era begin at that  

time4 ,having thus completed their      
scheme1 they prudently destroyed the    
original from which they compiled their 
scriptures1 and sending out missionaries
 to all parts of the ,empire            
commissioned them to preach salvation   
only to the ,gentile rabblement and to  
the ,jews4  ,that the sacred records of 
the ancient ,essenes or ,therapeutae    
constituted the basis of the scriptures 
of modern ,christianity we have the     
authority of ,eusebius1 the church      
historian of the fourth century1 from   
whom we learn nearly all that is        
reliable of its history during the first
 three centuries4  ,in his              
,ecclesiastical ,history1 ,book ,,ii4   
chapter #ag1 he makes the important     
admission that ,those ancient           
,therapeutae were ,christians1 and that 
their writtings are our ,gospels and    
,epistles4 ,as further evidence that    
modern ,christianity is but a survival  
of the ,eclectic philosophy of the      
ancient ,therapeutae1 we have another   

important admission by the same         
historian1 who1 in quoting from an      
apology addressed to the ,roman         
,emperor1 ,marcus ,antoninus1 in the    
year #aga1 by ,melito1 ,bishop of       
,sardis1 in ,lydia1 a province of ,asia 
,minor1 makes that apologist say1 in    
reference to certain grievances to which
 the ,christians were subjected1 that   
the philosophy which we profess truly   
flourished aforetime among the barbarous
 nations2 but having blossomed again in 
the great reign of thy ancestor1        
,augustus1 it proved to be1 above all   
things1 ominous of good fortune to thy  
kingdom4 ,thus we have indubitable      
evidence that it was the ,eclectic      
philosophy of the ,jewish1 or ancient   
,christianity1 which blossomed again1 in
 its modern form1 during the reign of   
,augustus4  ,from the testimony of      
,philo1 as referred to by ,eusebius1 and
 from the writings of ,josephus1 the    
,jewish historian1 we learn that1 at the
 beginning of our era1 the descendants  

of the ancient ,essenes were still      
observing the practices and customs of  
monasticism4 ,but as ,josephus refers to
 them only as descendants of the ancient
 ,essenes1 and makes no mention of      
,christ or ,christians--except in one   
paragraph which has been conceded by the
 best authorities to be an interpolation
 it is evident that1 at that time1 they 
had no connection with the ,university  
of ,alexandria1 and nothing whatever to 
do with the institution of modern       
,christianity4 ,it is also apparent that
 the ,jews of ,judea had no hand in its 
organization1 for1 if they had          
instituted it1 they would not have      
attached to the ,messiah the ,greek     
title signifying the ,christ1 but1      
writing their version of the ,gospel    
story in their own dialect1 would have  
used the ,hebrew word signifying the    
,shiloh 7see ,gen4 xlix4 #aj72 and      
furthermore1 having conceived the idea  
that he would manifest himself as a     
great temporal prince1 who would        

re-establish the throne of ,david1 and  
deliver them from the oppression of     
foreign rulers1 they would not have     
attached to him the humble              
characteristics of the ,christ of the   
new ,testament4 ,again1 if they had been
 the authors of modern ,christianity1 it
 would have been a most surprising      
inconsistency for them to turn right    
about and reject its conceptions of a   
savior1 especially when that rejection  
resulted in the dire persecutions to    
which their race has ever been subjected
 by the ,christians4 ,but the ,gentile  
riffraff1 attracted by the gracious     
promises of enjoying in the world to    
come the felicities denied them in this1
 eagerly attached themselves to the new 
sect1 which rapidly increased in        
numbers1 and its votaries1 glorying in  
the opprobrious epithet of ,ebionites1  
or needy ones1 made themselves so       
obnoxious by their aggression and       
turbulent dispositions that1 barely     
tolerated by the ,government and        

condemned by the cultured adherents to  
the established religion1 many of them1 
courting the crown of martyrdom1        
suffered death at the hands of the civil
 authorities2 and thus was engendered   
that spirit of hatred against their     
fancied oppressors which only awaited   
the opportunity to manifest itself in   
deeds of rapine and-bloodshed4  ,the    
fanacticism which prevailed among the   
earlier ,christians was the direct      
result of their dense ignorance1 and to 
this sole cause we may ascribe all the  
trouble which the ,roman ,government had
 with them1 and to become convinced of  
this fact we have but to study church   
history4 ,in reference to this subject  
,mosheim1 in his ,ecclesiastical        
,history2 ,vol4 #d1 part #b1 chap4 #a1  
says3 ,it is certain that the greatest  
part both of the bishops and presbyters 
were men entirely destitute of learning 
and education4 ,besides1 that savage and
 illiterate party1 who looked upon all  
sorts of erudition1 particularly that of

 a philosophical kind1 as pernicious1   
and even destructive of true piety and  
religion1 increased both in number and  
authority4 ,the ascetics1 monks and     
hermits augmented the strength of this  
barbarous faction1 and not only the     
women1 but also all who took solemn     
looks1 sordid garments1 and a love of   
solitude1 for real piety1 were          
vehemently prepossessed in their favor4 
,in almost any history of ,england we   
will find it recorded that1 even in the 
ninth century1 ,king ,alfred lamented   
that there was at that time not a priest
 in his dominions who understood ,latin2
 and even for some centuries after the  
bishops and prelates of the whole       
,christian community were marksmen1 i4  
e41 they supplied by the sign of the    
cross the inability to write their own  
names4 ,if the bishops and priests were 
so supremely ignorant what can be said  
in reference to the literary attainments
 of the laity8  ,the ,christians were   
alternately persecuted and tolerated by 

the ,roman ,emperors until the first    
quarter of the fourth century1 when     
certain events occurred through which   
the ,church of ,rome became the         
recipient of ,imperial ,patronage4      
,constantine ,i41 called the ,great1    
having made himself sole ,emperor by    
destroying all other claimants to the   
throne1 applied to ,sopater1 one of the 
priests of the established religion1 for
 absolution1 and was informed that his  
crimes were of such an atrocious        
character that there was no absolution  
for him4 ,believing that the            
,phlegethon1 or lake of fire and        
brimstone1 awaited him in the future    
life1 unless he could obtain absolution1
 he became very much distressed when one
 of his courtiers1 learning the cause   
and referring him to the ,church of     
,rome1 he at once applied to her        
,bishop1 ,silvester1 who1 readily       
granting the desired absolution1 he     
added another victim to his butcher bill
 by ordering the death of the honest    

priest who had refused to grant him     
absolution4 ,the ,christian sect having 
become a powerful and dangerous faction1
 ,constantine conceived the idea of     
strengthening his usurped and precarious
 position by attaching it to his        
interest1 and to that end he professed  
himself a convert to its tenets1 and1   
taking the ,church of ,rome under his   
especial patronage1 elevated her ,bishop
 to the rank of a prince of the ,empire 
and gave him one of his palaces for a   
residence4  ,the ,christian hierarchy1  
knowing that it would be a potent means 
of confirming the faith of the laity in 
the ,gospel story as a literal history  
to have a tomb of the ,saviour to which 
pilgrimages could be made1 and appealing
 to ,constantine to provide one1 he sent
 his mother1 ,helena1 to ,judea to find 
the place and1 of course1 discovering   
what she went to look for1 he had       
erected1 under her supervision1 over the
 designated spot1 that splendid edifice 
which1 known as the church of the ,holy 

,sepulchre1 remains to this day4        
,helena1 good at finding lost things1   
also claimed to have discovered the     
veritable cross upon which the ,saviour 
had been crucified2 and her son1 worthy 
of such a mother1 claimed1 as recorded  
by ,eusebius1 that he had seen with his 
own eyes the trophy of a cross of light 
in the heavens1 above the sun1 bearing  
the inscription3 ,in ,hoc ,signo        
,vinces1 signifying ,under this sign1   
conquer4 ,those were times of remarkable
 and supernatural occurrences4  ,at the 
time ,constantine became the patron of  
,christianity the bishops and presbyters
 of the several churches1 seemingly     
ignorant of the teachings of the        
,esoteric philosophy relative to the    
origin of the ,trinity1 were divided    
into two factions in discussing the     
relation between the ,father and the    
,son4 ,one party1 headed by ,athanasius1
 a presbyter of ,alexandria1 and        
afterwards bishop of that see1 advocated
 the ancient belief that the three      

persons in the godhead of ,father1 ,son 
and ,holy ,ghost is but one ,god1 that  
,christ is consubstantial or co-eternal 
with the ,father1 and that he became man
 to perform his mission of redemption4  
,such1 in brief1 is what is known as the
 ,athanasian or ,trinitarian ,creed4    
,the other party1 headed1 by ,arius1    
another presbyter of ,alexandria1       
advocated the belief in one ,god alone  
and that ,christ1 having no existence   
until begotten of the ,father1 is not   
consubstantial or co-eternal with him4  
,such1 in substance1 constitutes what is
 known to the ,trinitarian or ,orthodox 
,christians as the ,arian or ,unitarian 
heresy4 ,could stronger evidence be     
adduced that this controversy was the   
result of ignorantly making a           
distinction where there is no           
difference1 for whether ,trinitarian or 
,unitarian the mythical genius of the   
sun is the ,god to whom they all paid   
supreme adoration1 although the         
,christians of to-day would deny it most

 emphatically4  ,the faction1 advocating
 the ,trinitarian creed having converted
 the ,emperor to their belief1 and      
influencing him to enforce it as a      
fundamental doctrine of the ,christian  
theology1 he1 in the year #cbe1         
summoned1 at his own expense1 a general 
council of bishops and priests to meet  
at ,nice1 in ,bithynia1 a province of   
,asia ,minor4 ,when they had assembled  
he appeared among them1 clad in gorgeous
 attire1 with a jewel-studded diadem    
upon his royal brow1 and1 seated upon a 
gilded chair1 presided over their       
deliberations4 ,a minority of them1     
holding most contumaciously to the      
,arian heresy1 and refusing to change   
their views at the bidding of the       
,emperor1 he banished them from their   
respective bishoprics1 while the        
majority adopted the ,trinitarian creed1
 and appealing to ,constantine to       
suppress the writings of ,arius he      
issued an edict for that purpose1 which 
we present as follows3 ,moreover we     

thought that if there can be found      
extant any work or book compiled by     
,arius the same should be burned to     
ashes1 so that not only his damnable    
doctrine may thereby be wholly rooted   
out1 but also that no relic thereof may 
remain unto posterity4 ,this we also    
straightway command and charge1 that if 
any man be found to hide or conceal any 
book made by ,arius1 and not immediately
 bring forth such book1 and deliver it  
up to be burned1 that the said offender 
for so doing shall die the death4 ,for  
as soon as he is taken our pleasure is  
that his head shall be stricken off from
 his shoulders4 ,rather a blood-thirsty1
 edict to be issued by the puissant1 the
 mighty and noble ,emperor1 and a very  
inconsistent one1 considering that he   
soon afterwards readopted the ,unitarian
 faith and restored the banished bishops
 to their respective sees2 but1         
regardless of his action1 the ,church of
 ,rome sustained the ,trinitarian creed 
and enforced the dogma of the supreme   

divinity of ,christ4  ,thus we see that 
the history of ,christianity1 in the    
first half of the fourth century1 cannot
 be written without incorporating       
considerable from the life of           
,constantine1 whose ensanguined record  
before his pretended conversion marks   
him as the most brutal tyrant that ever 
disgraced the imperial purple2 but the  
appalling crimes he perpetrated         
afterwards1 among which were the        
scalding his inoffending wife to death  
in a bath of boiling water1 and the     
murdering1 without cause1 of six members
 of his family1 one of which was his own
 son1 justify what a learned writer said
 of him1 that ,the most unfortunate     
event that ever befell the human race   
was the adoption of ,christianity by the
 crimson-handed cut-throat in the       
possession of unlimited power1 and yet  
,constantine was canonized by the       
,eastern church4  ,during the first     
three centuries1 when ,christianity was 
but a weak sect1 her bishops addressed  

numerous apologies to the ,roman        
,emperors1 in which they claimed        
tolerance from the government on the    
ground that their form of worship was   
virtually the same as the established   
religion4 ,but after ,constantine's     
pretended conversion its hierarchy began
 to labor for the recognition of        
,christianity as the state religion1 and
 to give to their demand some show of   
consistency they insisted that their    
scriptures were really historical1 and  
that there was no resemblance whatever  
between the two forms of worship2 while 
theirs was of ,divine authenticity the  
,pagans was purely a human institution4 
,for centuries after the convocation of 
the council of ,nice the peace and      
harmony of the several churches were    
disturbed by the rancorous discussion of
 the same old questions of              
,trintarianism and ,unitarianism1 the   
,western church adhering to the former  
while a majority of the ,eastern        
congregations maintained their faith in 

the latter2 but ultimately the          
,trinitarian party1 gaining the         
ascendency1 and persecuting the         
adherents of the ,unitarian faith1 the  
greater part of them retired into       
northern ,arabia where they founded     
numerous monasteries2 and from history  
we learn that1 having impressed their   
,unitarian faith upon the populace of   
that country1 it was ultimately         
incorporated into the ,koran1 the sacred
 book of ,mohammedanism2 and1 while     
becoming votaries of that form of       
worship1 still retained the belief that 
,christ was but one of the prophets4    
,the cultured adherents to the          
established form of worship1 becoming   
alarmed at the growing power and        
influence of the ,christians and at the 
prospect of such an ignorant and vicious
 rabble obtaining control of the        
government1 regardless of their pledge  
to keep the ,gnosis secret1 publicly    
announced that the ,gods were mythical  
and the scriptures allegorical1 and     

engaged in a heated controversy with the
 ,christians upon the subjects4 ,the    
character of their discussions is well1 
although supposititiously1 expressed by 
,gerald ,massey1 in his work entitled1  
,the ,historical ,jesus and the         
,mythical ,christ2 page #agi1 ,american 
edition1 where he makes the ,gnostics   
say to the ,christians1 ,you poor       
ignorant idiots2 you have mistaken the  
mysteries of old for modern history1 and
 accepted literally all that was only   
meant mystically4 ,to which the         
,christians responded1 ,you spawn of    
,satan1 you are making the mystery by   
converting our accomplished facts into  
your miserable fables2 you are          
dissipating and dispersing into thin air
 our only bit of solid foothold in the  
world1 stained with the red drops of    
,calvary4 ,you are giving a satanic     
interpretation of the word of revelation
 and falsifying the oracles of ,god4    
,you are converting the solid facts of  
our history into your newfangled        

allegories2 to which the ,gnostics      
replied1 ,nay1 it is you who have taken 
the allegories of ,mythology for        
historical facts4  ,but it was          
impossible to stem the rising tide2 the 
lessons which the priesthood had taught 
the ignorant masses had been too well   
learned4 ,they were sure that their     
scriptures were historical2 that ,jesus 
,christ was truly the incarnate saviour 
who had died and rose again for the     
salvation of the elect1 and that being  
the elect it would be pre-eminently just
 and proper that the old ,pagan form of 
worship should be abrogated and theirs  
recognized as the state religion4 ,thus 
the conflict raged until the year #cha1 
when1 under the reign of the ,emperor   
,theodosius the ,great1 this demand     
having been formally made1 and the      
,senate1 fearing the tumult a refusal   
would excite1 with a show of fair       
dealing ordered the presentation1 before
 that body1 of the respective merits of 
the two forms of worship4 ,in that      

memorable discussion1 which lasted a    
whole week1 ,symmachus1 a senator1      
advocated the old system1 and ,ambrose1 
,bishop of ,milan1 the new1 which       
resulting1 as a foregone conclusion1 in 
the triumph of ,christianity1 a decree  
to that effect was promulgated4  ,then  
the long deferred opportunity having    
arrived1 the vengeful bishops1 hounding 
on a no less vengeful laity1 ruthlessly 
murdered the priests of the old         
religion1 and1 appropriating its        
emoluments to their own use1 they seized
 upon its temples1 and demolishing some1
 converted others into churches4 ,with  
iconoclastic hands they destroyed some  
of the statues representing the ancient 
divinities1 or after mutilation exposed 
others in public places to the derision 
of the populace4 ,subjecting the        
adherents to the older form of worship1 
whom they designated as infidels1 to the
 most diabolical indignities and        
persecutions1 they destroyed their works
 of art1 burned their libraries1        

suppressed their schools of learning1   
and either killed or exiled their       
professors4 ,among the atrocious acts   
perpetrated by these fiends in human    
shape none was more barbarous than the  
one committed in ,alexandria1 in the    
year #dae1 when ,hypatia1 the beautiful 
and accomplished daughter of ,theon1 who
 had succeeded her father as professor  
of mathematics and philosophy in the    
,alexandrian ,university1 while on her  
way to deliver a lecture1 was1 by order 
of ,bishop ,cyril1 dragged from her     
chariot and murdered in a most revolting
 manner4  ,one of the successors of     
,theodosius justified himself in        
decreeing the spoliation of the old     
religion upon the grounds that ,it was  
unbecoming a ,christian government to   
supply the infidels with the means of   
persevering in their errors4 ,another   
one of the ,emperors1 more zealous than 
his predecessors1 decreed the death     
penalty against all persons discovered  
practicing any of the rites and         

ceremonies of the old religion4 ,thus   
the onslaught of ,christian savagery    
obliterated the civilization of ,greece 
and ,rome1 and inaugurated that long    
reign of intellectual night known as the
 ,dark ,ages1 which1 materially aiding  
in effecting the decline and fall of the
 ,roman ,empire1 made it possible to    
erect upon its ruins that ,italian      
,oligarchy1 which1 since then1 has ruled
 the greater part of ,christendom4  ,the
 dogmatic element of the ancient        
astrolatry1 as incorporated into the    
,christian creed1 underwent no material 
change until the inauguration of the    
dark ages1 when the bishops of the      
several churches1 in the delirium of    
metaphysical speculation1 concocted the 
previously unheard of doctrine of       
pre-existence of spirit1 in conformity  
to which ,god was declared to be purely 
a spiritual deity1 who1 existing before 
matter1 created the universe of nothing4
 ,being the sole custodians of the      
scriptures2 and changing the six periods

 of a thousand years each to the six    
days of creation1 they altered ,gen4 i1 
#a1 to read1 ,in the beginning ,god     
created the heaven and the earth1 which 
in the original read3 ,in the beginning1
 when the ,gods 7,elohim or ,alehim7 had
 made 7shaped or formed7 this heaven and
 this earth4 ,these radical changes     
necessitating others1 they made two     
distinct and independent beings of the  
principles of ,good and ,evil           
personified in the ,god ,sol2 the former
 they embodied in ,jesus the ,christ and
 the latter in the ,christian ,devil1   
thus supplanting old ,pluto2 the        
presiding genius of the under world4    
,rejecting the ancient doctrines        
relative to the soul1 and teaching that1
 having proceeded from a purely         
spiritual deity1 it would exist         
eternally as an independent spiritual   
entity1 they substituted for the ancient
 system of limited rewards and          
punishments the one inculcating their   
endless duration4 ,these changes in the 

creed1 which were confirmed at the      
general council of ,constantinople1 in  
the year #eec1 necessitating further    
alterations of the scriptures1 the      
righteous were promised eternal life in 
the ,paradise of ,god beyond the stars2 
and1 ,while consigning great sinners to 
everlasting punishment in the ,tartarian
 fires of the under world1 the less     
venial were to expiate their crimes in  
the same old ,purgatory4 ,thus1 having  
invented an endless heaven and an       
endless hell for purely spiritual souls1
 and neglecting to expunge the doctrines
 of the resurrection of the body1 the   
setting up of the kingdom of heaven upon
 a reorganized earth and other          
materialistic teachings of the ancient  
religion1 they made of the creed and    
scriptures such a conglomeration of     
things new and old that1 without the    
,astrological key1 it would be          
impossible to determine what they       
originally taught4  ,at the ,reformation
 in the #afth century ,luther and his   

coadjutors1 while projecting into the   
,protestant creed all the cardinal      
tenets of ,catholicism1 excepting that  
of ,purgatory1 made no change in the    
verbiage of the scriptures4 ,thus       
retaining the awful doctrine of endless 
hell1 the reformers constructed a creed 
which they intended for the government  
of ,protestants for all time2 but1 doing
 what had never been done before in the 
history of the world1 they gave the     
scriptures to the laity1 and1 whether or
 not they secured the right of private  
judgment or individual interpretation1  
it has been taken all the same2 and thus
 opening the door to investigation1 it  
must ultimately result not only in the  
abrogation of hell1 but in the          
relegation to the limbo of oblivion of  
the whole dogmatic element of religion4 
,as a fitting conclusion to this        
article1 we again direct the attention  
of our readers to the subject of the    
primary source of religious dogmas4     
,prior to the establishment of          

,christianity as the state religion of  
the ,roman ,empire1 the philosophers who
 wrote against it invariably made the   
charge that its theology was derived    
from the ancient ,paganism4 ,after its  
establishment as the state religion of  
the ,empire1 the hierarchy of the       
church1 knowing that this charge was    
unanswerable1 instigated the ,emperor   
,theodosius ,i4 to promulgate an edict  
decreeing the destruction of all books  
antagonistic to ,christianity4 ,this    
edict1 directed more particularly       
against the writings of ,celsus1 was    
carried out so effectually that we know 
nothing of what he wrote1 only as quoted
 by ,origen1 the distinguished church   
father of the third century1 who        
attempted to answer in eight books what 
,celsus had written in one1 entitled    
,the ,true ,discourse4 ,in one of his   
quotations from ,celsus' work he makes  
that philosopher say that the ,christian
 religion contains nothing but what     
,christians held in common with         

heathens1 nothing that was new or truly 
great4 ,see ,bellamy's translation1     
chapter #d4 ,during the earlier         
centuries the ,christians were divided  
into numerous sects1 entertaining very  
divergent views1 and each faction1      
holding all others to be heretical1     
charged them with having derived their  
doctrines from the ,pagan religion4     
,upon this subject we find that         
,epiphanius1 a celebrated church father 
of the #dth century1 freely admits that 
all that differed from his own were     
derived from the heathen mythology4     
,such was the position of all orthodox  
writers during the ,middle ,ages1 and   
since the ,reformation the ,protestant  
clergy have uniformly made the same     
charge against the ,catholic2 a few     
quotations from their writings we       
present for the edification of our      
readers4  ,jean ,daille1 a ,french      
,protestant minister of the #agth       
century1 in his treatise entitled ,la   
,religion ,catholique ,romaine          

,institute par ,nama ,pompile1          
demonstrates that the ,papists took     
their idolatrous worship of images1 as  
well as all their ceremonies1 from the  
old heathen religion4 ,bishop           
,stillingfleet of the ,english church   
and a writer of considerable eminence in
 the #agth century1 said1 in reference  
to the complaisant spirit of the early  
church towards the ,pagans1 that it was 
attended by very bad consequences1 since
 ,christianity became at last1 by that  
means1 nothing else but reformed        
,paganism1 as to its divine worship4    
,see ,stillingfleet's defense of the    
charge of idolatry against the          
,romanists1 vol4 #e1 page #dei4 ,m4     
,turrentin1 of ,geneva1 ,switzerland1 a 
learned ,protestant writer of the #agth 
century1 in one of his orations         
describing the state of ,christianity in
 the #dth century1 says that it was not 
so much the ,empire that was brought    
over to the faith1 as the faith that was
 brought over to the ,empire2 not the   

,pagans who were converted to           
,christianity1 but the ,christians who  
were converted to ,paganism4 ,thus1     
having shown that the ,catholics derived
 all their cardinal tenets from the     
,pagan mythology1 the ,protestants must 
surely have obtained theirs from the    
,catholics1 for they teach all of them  
except that of ,purgatory4              
,,freemasonry ,,and ,,druidism4  ,the   
rites and ceremonies of ,astral worship1
 under the name of ,druidism1 were      
primarily observed in consecrated groves
 by all peoples2 which custom was       
retained by the ,scandinavian and       
,germanic races1 and by the inhabitants 
of ,gaul and the ,british ,islands2     
while the ,east ,indians1 ,assyrians1   
,egyptians1 ,grecians1 ,romans1 and     
other adjacent nations1 ultimately      
observed their religious services in    
temples2 and we propose to show that the
 modern societies of ,freemasonry1 and  
ancient order of ,druids1 are but       
perpetuations of the grove and temple   

forms of the ancient astrolatry4 ,in    
determining the fact that ,freemasonry  
finds its prototype in the temple       
worship of ancient ,egypt1 we have but  
to study the ,masonic arms1 as          
illustrated in ,fellows' chart1 in which
 are pictured1 as its objects of        
adoration1 the sun and moon1 the seven  
stars1 known as ,pleiades in the sign of
 ,taurus2 the blazing star ,sirius1 or  
,dog-star1 worshipped by the ,egyptians 
under the name of ,anubis1 and whose    
rising forewarned those people of the   
rising of the ,nile ,river2 the seven   
signs of the ,zodiac from ,aries to     
,libra1 inclusive1 through which the sun
 was supposed to pass in making his     
apparent annual revolution1 and which   
constitutes the ,royal arch from which  
was derived the name of one of its      
higher degrees2 and its armorial        
bearings1 consisting of pictures of the 
,lion1 the ,bull1 the ,waterman1 and the
 ,flying ,eagle1 which representing the 
signs at the cardinal points1           

constituted the genii of the seasons4   
,besides these1 we have the checkered   
flooring or mosaic work1 representing   
the earth and its variegated face1 which
 was introduced when temple worship     
succeeded its grove form2 the two       
columns representing the imaginary      
pillars of heaven resting upon the earth
 at ,equinoctial points1 and supporting 
the ,royal arch2 also the letter ,g     
standing for ,geometry1 the knowledge of
 which was of great importance to the   
natives of ,egypt in establishing the   
boundaries of their lands removed by the
 inundations of the ,nile1 the square   
and compass1 being the instruments      
through which the old landmarks were    
restored1 and which ultimately became   
the symbols of justice4 ,the cornucopia1
 or horn of plenty1 denoted the sun in  
the sign of ,capricorn1 and indicated   
the season when the harvest was gathered
 and provisions laid up for ,winter use2
 the cenotaph or mock coffin with the   
sign of the cross upon its lid1 referred

 to the sun's crossing of the celestial 
equator at the ,autumnal ,equinox1 and  
to the figurative death of the genius of
 that luminary in the lower hemisphere2 
whose resurrection at the ,vernal       
,equinox is typified by the sprig of    
acacia sprouting near the head of the   
coffin4 ,the serpent1 issuing from the  
small vessel to the left1 represented   
the symbol of the ,lord of ,evil under  
whose dominion was placed the seasons of
 ,autumn and ,winter2 and the figure of 
a box at the right hand1 represented the
 sacred ark in which1 anciently1 the    
symbols of solar worship were deposited2
 but which is now used by the masons as 
a receptacle for their papers4  ,see    
plate#i4;gif  ,after1 the promulgation1 
in the fifth century1 of the edict by   
one of the ,emperors of ,rome1 decreeing
 the death penalty against all persons  
discovered practicing any of the rites  
and ceremonies of the ancient religion1 
a body of its cultured adherents1       
determining to observe them secretly1   

banded themselves together into a       
society for that purpose4 ,with the view
 to masking their real object1 they took
 advantage of the fact that the square  
and compass1 the plumbline1 etc41 were  
symbols of speculative masonry in the   
temple form of ,astral worship1 they    
publicly claimed to be only a           
trades-union for the prosecution of the 
arts of architecture and operative      
masonry2 but1 among themselves1 were    
known as ,free and ,accepted ,masons or 
,freemasons4 ,in imitation of the       
ancient mysteries they instituted lower 
and higher degrees2 in the former they  
taught the ,exoteric creed1 and in the  
latter the ,esoteric philosophy1 as     
explained in our introduction4          
,inculcating supreme adoration to the   
solar divinity the candidates for       
initiation were made to personate that  
mythical being and subjected to the     
ceremonies representing his figurative  
death and resurrection1 were required to
 take fearful oaths not to reveal the   

secrets of the order4 ,to enable them to
 recognize each other1 and to render aid
 to a brother in emergencies1 they      
adopted a system of grips1 signs and    
calls2 and to guard against the         
intrusion of their ,christian enemies   
they stationed watchmen outside of their
 lodges to give timely warning of their 
approach4 ,thus was instituted the      
original ,grand ,lodge of ,freemasonry1 
from which charters were issued for the 
organization of subordinate lodges in   
all the principal cities throughout the 
,roman ,empire4  ,becoming cognizant of 
the true object of ,freemasonry1 the    
,hierarchy of the ,church of ,rome      
resolved to suppress the order1 and to  
that end maintained such a strict       
espionage upon its members that1 no     
longer able to assemble in their lodges1
 they determined to defend themselves by
 an appeal to arms1 and gathering       
together in strongholds1 for a long time
 successfully resisted the armies of the
 church2 but ultimately1 being almost   

exterminated1 the residue disbanded1 and
 we hear no more of ,freemasonry1 as a  
secret order1 until the conclusion of   
the ,dark ,ages1 when the ,reformation1 
making it possible1 a form of the order1
 recognizing ,christianity1 was revived 
among the ,protestants2 but the ,church 
of ,rome1 true to her traditions1 has   
never ceased to hurl anathemas against  
it and all other secret societies       
outside of her own body4 ,thus1 having  
made it apparent that ,freemasonry1 as  
primarily instituted1 was but a         
perpetuation of the temple form of      
,astral worship1 we can readily see     
that1 while some of its symbols are as  
old as the ancient ,egyptian religion1  
it did not1 as a secret order1 take its 
rise until ,christian persecution made  
it necessary4 ,hence it cannot justly   
lay claim to a greater antiquity than   
the fifth century of the ,christian era4
  ,according to ,masonic annals a ,grand
 ,lodge was organized at ,york1         
,england1 early in the tenth century1   

but1 like the lodges of ,southern       
,europe1 was suppressed by the ,church  
of ,rome4 ,in #agag a ,grand ,lodge was 
organized at ,london1 ,england1 and soon
 afterwards the old ,grand ,lodge at    
,york was revived1 and its members took 
the name of ,free and ,accepted ,ancient
 ,york ,masons1 from which emanated the 
charter of the ,grand ,lodge in the     
,united ,states1 which was organized in 
,boston in #agcc4 ,in #ahac the rivalry 
between the ,grand ,lodges of ,york and 
,london was compromised1 and the        
supremacy of the former was conceded4   
,from church history we learn that in   
the year #eif of our era ,pope ,gregory 
,i4 dispatched ,augustin1 and forty     
other monks of the order of ,st4        
,andrew1 from ,rome to ,britain1 to     
convert the natives to ,christianity2   
but1 while the ,anglo-,saxons embraced  
the new faith1 the ,britons rejected it1
 and1 being persecuted by the           
,christians1 retired to the fastnesses  
of the country known as ,wales1 where1  

for a long period1 they maintained the  
observance of the ,druidical form of    
worship2 and although that country has  
long since become ,christianized1 the   
society of the ,ancient ,order of       
,druids has existed with an             
uninterrupted succession at             
,pout-y-prid1 where the ,arch-,druid    
resides1 and from1 whence emanated the  
charter of the ,grand ,lodge of the     
order in this country4 ,in reference to 
the ,druidism on the continent1 history 
records the fact that when one of the   
reigning kings became a convert to      
,christianity the whole of his subjects 
were baptized into the ,church of ,rome 
by ,imperial decree4    ,,the ,,sabbath4
  ,in determining the origin of the     
seventh day ,sabbath1 we must of        
necessity refer to that source of all   
religious ordinances1 the ancient       
astrolatry1 the founders of which1      
having taught that ,god ,sol was engaged
 in the reorganization of ,chaos during 
the first six periods of the twelve     

thousand year cycle1 corresponding to   
the months of ,spring and ,summer1 they 
conceived the idea that he ceased to    
exert his energies1 or rested from his  
labors on the seventh period1           
corresponding to the first of the       
,autumn months4 ,hence1 deriving the    
suggestion from the apparent septenary  
rest in nature1 they taught that ,god   
ordained the seventh day of the week as 
the ,sabbath or rest day for man4  ,in  
conformity to this ordinance the        
founders of ancient ,judaism enforced   
the observance of the seventh day       
,sabbath in the fourth commandment of   
the ,decalogue1 which1 found in ,gen4   
xx4 #h-aa1a reads as follows1 viz3      
,remember the ,sabbath day to keep it   
holy4 ,six days shalt thou labor and do 
all thy work2 but the seventh day is the
 ,sabbath of the ,lord thy ,god2 in it  
thou shalt not do any work1 thou1 nor   
thy son1 nor thy daughter1 thy man      
servant1 nor thy maid servant1 nor thy  
cattle1 nor thy stranger that is within 

thy gates2 for in six days the ,lord    
made heaven and earth1 the sea and all  
that in them is1 and rested the seventh 
day2 wherefore the ,lord blessed the    
,sabbath day and hallowed it4 ,thus was 
the seventh day of the week made the    
,sabbath of the ,old ,testament2 but the
 authors of the ,jewish or ancient      
,christianity1 looking for the immediate
 fulfillment of the prophecies relative 
to the second judgment1 ignored its     
observance1 as may be seen by reference 
to ,mark ii4 #bc1 #bg2 ,john v4 #b-ah2  
,romans xiv4 #e2 and ,col4 ii4 #af2 and 
the founders of modern ,christianity1   
perpetuating the belief in the speedy   
fulfillment of those prophecies1 made no
 change relative to the ,sabbath in     
their version of the ,new ,testament4   
,after ,constantine's pretended         
conversion to ,christianity1 and the    
time for the fulfillment of the         
prophecies had been put off to the year 
#ajjjj1 as previously stated1 the       
hierarchy of the church appealed to the 

,emperor to give them a ,sabbath1 and   
although they knew that the seventh day 
of the week was the ,sabbath of the ,old
 ,testament1 and that ,sunday was the   
first of the six working days1 according
 to the fourth commandment1 their hatred
 to the ,jews for refusing to accept    
their ,christ as the ,saviour induced   
them to have it placed on the first day 
of the week4 ,hence that obliging       
potentate1 in the year #cba1 promulgated
 the memorable edict1 which1 found in   
that ,digest of ,roman law known as the 
,justinian ,code1 ,book ,,iii41 ,title  
#ab1 ,sec4 #b and #c1 reads as follows1 
viz43 ,let all judges and all people of 
the towns rest and all the various      
trades be suspended on the venerable day
 of the ,sun4 ,those who live in the    
country1 however1 may freely and without
 fault attend to the cultivation of     
their fields lest1 with the loss of     
favorable opportunity1 the commodities  
offered by ,divine ,providence shall be 
destroyed4 ,thus we see that the primary

 movement towards enforcing the         
observance of ,sunday1 or ,lord's ,day1 
as the ,sabbath1 did not originate in a 
,divine command1 but in the edict of an 
earthly potentate4  ,this edict was     
ratified at the third council of        
,orleans1 in the year #ech2 and in      
order1 that the people might not be     
prevented from attending church1 and    
saying their prayers1 a resolution was  
adopted at the same time recommending   
the observance of the day by all        
classes4 ,from merely recommending1 the 
,church of ,rome soon began to enforce  
the observance of the day2 but1 in spite
 of all her efforts1 it was not until   
the #abth century that its observance   
had become so universal as to receive   
the designation of ,the ,christian      
,sabbath4  ,cognizant of the manner in  
which ,sunday was made the ,sabbath1    
,luther issued for the government of the
 ,protestant communion the following    
mandate3 ,as for the ,sabbath1 or       
,sunday1 there is no necessity for      

keeping it2 see ,michelet's ,life of    
,luther1 ,book ,,iv41 chapter #b4       
,luther also said1 as recorded in ,table
 ,talk1 ,if anywhere the day 7,sunday7  
is made holy for the mere day's sake2 if
 anywhere anyone sets up its observance 
upon a ,jewish foundation1 then ,i order
 you to work on it1 to dance on it1 to  
ride on it1 to feast on it1 and to do   
anything that shall reprove this        
encroachment on the ,christian spirit of
 liberty4 ,melancthon1 ,luther's chief  
coadjutor in the work of ,reformation1  
denied1 in the most emphatic language1  
that ,sunday was made the ,sabbath by   
,divine ordainment2 and in reference    
thereto ,john ,milton1 in reply to the  
,sunday ,sabbatarians1 makes the        
pertinent inquiry3 ,if1 on a plea of    
,divine command1 you impose upon us the 
observance of a particular day1 how do  
you presume1 without the authority of a 
,divine command1 to substitute another  
in its place8  ,during the reign of     
,elizabeth1 ,queen of ,england1 a sect  

of fanatics1 known as ,dissenters or    
,nonconformists1 basing their action    
upon the fallacious arguments derived   
from the fourth commandment1 and upon   
the plea that the ,saviour was raised   
from the dead on the first day of the   
week1 inaugurated what is known as the  
,puritan ,sabbath1 which having been    
transferred to our shores by the        
voyagers in the ,mayflower1 and enforced
 by those statutory enactments known as 
,blue ,laws1 caused the people of ,new  
,england to have a blue time of it while
 the delusion lasted2 and now a large   
body of ,protestant clergy perverting   
the teachings of scripture1 and1        
ignoring the authority of the           
,reformers1 are disturbing the peace of 
society by their efforts to enforce the 
code of sundry laws1 which were enacted 
through their connivance4 ,thus have we 
shown that1 originating with the        
,catholics and adopted by the           
,protestants1 the ,sunday ,sabbath is   
purely and entirely a human institution1

 and1 being such1 we must recognize all 
,sunday laws as grave encroachments upon
 constitutional liberty2 and it behooves
 the advocates of individual rights to  
demand their immediate repeal2 for      
unless a vigilant watch is kept upon the
 conspirators who secured their         
enactment1 our fair land will soon be   
cursed by a union of church and ,state1 
the tendency in that direction having   
been indicated by the unprecedented     
opinion recently handed down by one of  
the ,justices of the ,united ,states    
,supreme ,court that this is a          
,christian ,government4    ,,pious      
,,frauds4  ,by claiming to be divinely  
appointed for the propagation of a      
divinely authenticated religion1 the    
priesthood of all forms of worship have 
ever labored to deceive and enslave the 
ignorant multitude2 and in support of   
these fallacious assumptions have       
resorted to all manner of pious frauds1 
in reference to which we quote from both
 ,pagan and ,christian sources with the 

view to showing that the moderns have   
faithfully followed the ancient example4
 ,euripedes1 an ,athenian writer1 who   
flourished about #dej years before the  
beginning of our era1 maintained that1  
in the early state of society1 some wise
 men insisted on the necessity of       
darkening truth with falsehood and of   
persuading men that there is an immortal
 deity who hears and sees and           
understands our actions1 whatever we may
 think of that matter ourselves4        
,strabo1 the famous geographer and      
historian of ,greek extraction1 who     
flourished about the beginning of the   
,christian era1 wrote that ,it is not   
possible for a philosopher to conduct by
 reasoning a multitude of women and the 
low vulgar1 and thus to invite them to  
piety1 holiness and faith2 but the      
philosopher must make use of            
superstition and not omit the invention 
of fables and the performance of        
wonders4 ,for the lightning and the     
aegis and the trident are but fables1   

and so all ancient theology4 ,but the   
founders of states adopted them as      
bugbears to frighten the weak-minded4   
,varro1 a learned ,roman scholar1 who   
also flourished about the beginning of  
our era1 wrote that ,there are many     
truths which it is useless for the      
vulgar to know1 and many falsehoods     
which it is fit that the people should  
not know are falsehoods4  ,so much from 
,pagan authorities relative to the      
necessity of deceiving the ignorant     
masses4 ,we will now present some       
,christian authorities upon the same    
subject2 and first from ,christ himself1
 who in addressing his disciples is made
 to say1 in ,mark iv1 #aa1 #ab1 ,unto   
you it is given to know the mystery of  
the kingdom of ,god2 but unto them that 
are without all these things are done in
 parables1 that seeing they may see and 
not perceive2 and hearing they may hear 
and not understand4 ,paul1 in his       
fourteen ,epistles1 inculcates and avows
 the principle of deceiving the common  

people4 ,he speaks of having been       
upbraided by his own converts with being
 crafty and catching them with guile and
 of his known and wilful lies abounding 
to the glory of ,god4 ,see ,romans iii4 
#g1 and ,,ii4 ,cor4 xii4 #af4 ,if       
,christ and ,paul were guilty of        
deception1 their followers had good     
excuse for the same course of conduct4  
,upon this subject ,beausobre1 a very   
learned ecclesiastical writer1 who      
flourished about the beginning of the   
#ahth century1 says3 ,we see in the     
history which ,i have related a sort of 
hypocrisy that has been1 perhaps1 but   
too common at all times2 that churchmen 
not only do not say what they think1 but
 they do say the direct contrary of what
 they think4 ,philosophers in their     
cabinets2 out of them they are content  
with fables1 though they well know that 
they are fables4 ,historie de ,manichee1
 vol4 #b1 page #efh4 ,bishop ,synesius1 
the distinguished author of religious   
literature and ,christian father of the 

#eth century1 said3 ,i shall be a       
philosopher only to myself1 and ,i shall
 always be a bishop to the people4      
,mosheim1 the distinguished author of   
,ecclesiastical ,history1 ,vol4 ,i41    
page #abj1 says3 ,the authors who have  
treated of the innocence and sanctity of
 the primitive ,christians have fallen  
into the error of supposing them to have
 been unspotted models of piety and     
virtue1 and a gross error indeed it is1 
as the strongest testimonies too        
evidently prove4 ,the same author1 in   
,vol4 ,i41 page4 #aih1 says in the      
fourth century it was an almost         
universally adopted maxim that it was an
 act of virtue to deceive and lie1 when 
by such means the interest of the church
 might be promoted4 ,in his             
,ecclesiastical ,history1 ,vol4 ,,ii41  
page #aa1 he says that as regards the   
fifth century1 the simplicity and       
ignorance of the generality in those    
times furnished the most favorable      
occasion for the exercise of fraud2 and 

the impudence of impostors in contriving
 false miracles was artfully            
proportioned to the credulity of the    
vulgar2 while the sagacious and the     
wise1 who perceived these cheats1 were  
overawed into silence by the dangers    
that threatened their lives and fortunes
 if they should expose the artifice4    
,thomas ,burnet1 ,d4,d41 who flourished 
about the beginning of the #ahth        
century1 in his treatise entitled ,de   
,statu ,mortuorum1 purposely written in 
,latin that it might serve for the      
instruction of the clergy only1 and not 
come to the knowledge of the laity1     
because1 as he says1 too much light is  
hurtful for weak eyes1 not only         
justifies1 but recommends the practice  
of the most consummate hypocrisy1 and   
that1 too1 on the most awful of all     
subjects2 and would have his1 clergy    
seriously preach and maintain the       
reality and eternity of hell torments1  
even though they should believe nothing 
of the sort themselves4 ,see page #cjd4 

,hugo ,grotius1 the eminent writer of   
,holland in the #agth century1 says in  
his #bb;d ,epistle3 ,he that reads      
ecclesiastical history1 reads nothing   
but the roguery and folly of bishops1   
and churchmen4 ,in the language of      
,robert ,taylor1 from whom we have taken
 most of the quotations under this      
heading1 we assert that no man could    
quote higher authorities1 to prove the  
roguery and folly of bishops and        
churchmen4    ,,conclusion4  ,having    
presented the evidences in support of   
the apparently untenable assertion that1
 notwithstanding the numerous modes in  
which man has manifested his devotional 
proclivities1 the world has virtually   
had but the one religion founded in the 
worship of personified nature1 we are   
necessitated to recognize the facts that
 the ,christian ,scriptures like the    
sacred records of other forms of nature 
worship are1 but a collection of        
astronomical allegories2 that the gospel
 story is truly the old1 old story which

 had been told of a thousand other      
,saviours before it was applied to the  
,christian ,messiah2 that ,jesus is but 
one of the many names given to imaginary
 incarnations of the mythical genius of 
the sun2 and that the ,disciples and    
,evangelists are but the genii of the   
months and the seasons4 ,such being the 
facts1 which cannot be successfully     
refuted1 we must believe that the       
,christian religion1 instead of being of
 ,divine authenticity1 as popularly     
claimed1 is purely and entirely of human
 origin1 and that all its teachings     
relative to a future state are but      
priestly inventions1 concocted for the  
purpose of enslaving the ignorant       
masses4  ,when we think of the thousand 
millions of dollars invested in church  
properties1 and estimate the cost of    
maintaining more than a hundred thousand
 priests and ministers1 in supporting   
foreign and domestic missions and in    
publishing religious literature2 besides
 the taxes applied to the care of the   

religious insane1 and realize the fact  
that all of this vast sum of money is   
abstracted from the resources of the    
people1 we would not have to go outside 
of our own country to appreciate the    
fact that religion is the burden of all 
burdens to society2 and when we         
contemplate the great disturbance to the
 social relation1 resulting from        
sectarian strife1 and the almost        
universal disposition of ,christians to 
persecute and ostracize those who differ
 with them in opinion1 we can readily   
subscribe to the sentiment accredited to
 one of our revolutionary sires1 that   
this would be a good world to live in if
 there was no religion in it4  ,if the  
clergy had been laboring as faithfully  
to impress the observance of ethical    
principles as they have to indoctrinate 
the people with the superstitions of    
religion1 we would not now be deploring 
the great demoralization of society4 ,it
 is a grave arraignment of the clericals
 to charge them with being1 indirectly1 

the cause of this lamentable state of   
things2 but it is a condition that might
 have been expected1 for1 when entering 
the ministry1 they engaged themselves1  
not so much to teach ethics as to       
propagate faith in the doctrines of     
their respective sects4 ,thus hampered  
they cannot do the good to society their
 better natures might desire4 ,hence the
 only hope for improvement is for the   
people to wholly ignore the dogmatic    
element of religion1 and refusing to    
longer support it1 demand that moral    
training shall be the grand essential of
 education4 ,if this course were adopted
 and persistently followed1 it would be 
but a question of time when mankind     
would come into being with such a benign
 heredity that crime would be almost    
impossible4  ,then1 since religion      
inculcates a salvation that does not    
save1 let us rise superior to its false 
teachings and1 accepting science as the 
true saviour of mankind1 find our whole 
duty in the code of natural morality1   

the spirit of which is embodied in that 
comprehensive precept known as the      
golden rule1 which1 being the outgrowth 
of the discovered necessities of        
association1 without which society could
 not exist1 it necessarily constituted  
man's sole rule and guide long before   
priest or temple2 and founded in the    
eternal principles of right1 truth and  
justice must remain as man's sole rule  
and guide when priest and church are    
numbered among the things that were4    
,spirit of progress6 speed the day when 
all mankind1 redeemed from the bondage  
of superstition1 will recognize the     
great truth that nature1 governed by her
 own inherent forces1 is all that has   
been1 all that is and all that shall be2
 and that1 ceasing to indulge in the    
vain hope of a blissful immortality in a
 paradise beyond the stars1 will make a 
real paradise of this old earth of ours4
   ----------------------------         
#a7;,editorial note3 the original text  
erroneously attributed this quote to    

,genesis #bj3h-aa2 actually it is from  
,exodus #bj3h-aa47