Hermes~Mercury~Thoth~ Trismegistus~Three Times Great

While Hera was sleeping, Zeus went to see Maia, the graceful daughter of Atlas, in a shady cave; and to this secret visit Hermes is said to have owed his existence. Being born in the morning, he at noon played on the lute invented by himself, and in the evening he stole Apollo's oxen.

The lute was invented by him in the following manner. Secretly leaving his cradle at noon, on the first day of his life, and stepping over the threshold, he met a tortoise, whose shell appeared to him a fit instrument for giving musical tones when furnished with strings: "Now thou art dumb," said he, "but after thy death, thy song will be heard." Thus addressing the animal, he immediately killed it, and furnished the shell with seven concordant strings, which he touched with a small stick. As soon as he had turned the newly invented instrument with skillful ear, he could not forbear singing to it, and chanted forth the praise of everything that net his eye, even the tripods and vessels in his mother's house; till at last, his song, passing into a higher strain, found a worthier subject, in the love of Zeus and Maia, his divine parents.

When evening came on, and the sun had descended into the ocean, Hermes found himself upon the Pierian mountains, where the herds of the immortal gods were feeding. From these he stole fifty oxen belonging to Apollo, and devising many a crafty trick to avoid detection, as he drove them onward through valleys and over mountains, he would have escaped discovery, but an old man, who, digging in the field, saw the boy with the oxen, and afterwards betrayed him to Apollo. On the shores of the river Alpheus, Hermes killed two of the stolen oxen, making a sacrifice of them to himself. Having done this, he carefully extinguished the fire, hid the ashes in the ground, and threw the remainder of the killed animals into the river, together with the shoes he had made of twigs and put upon the feet of the oxen, in order to conceal their tracks, or render them undiscernable. All this he performed by moonlight. Before the break of day he gently stole back into his mother's dwelling, and lay down again into his cradle, pulling the clothes around him, and holding the lute, his dearest plaything, in his hand.

Apollo, angry at the theft committed on his oxen, appeared to call Hermes to account, and to recover his property. The thief feigned a deep sleep, having the lute lying under his arm. Apollo threatened to precipitate him into Tartaros, if he would not immediately point out the place where the oxen were hidden. Then the cunning boy, twinkling his eyes, answered him, "How cruelly, son of Leto, dost thou address a little boy who was not born until yesterday, and who cares for things very different from driving oxen; who is longing for sweet slumber and his mother's breast, and whose feet are too tender and feeble to tread long and rough paths. Nay, I will swear by Zeus, my father's head, that neither I myself, have stolen the oxen, nor do I know who committed the deed."

Upon this, it was agreed between then, that both should appear before the father of the gods on Olympus, that he might reconcile their difference. Apollo stated his complaint, while Hermes stood by in his swathing-clothes, in order to refute the charges by the appearance of his tender age. "Have I then indeed," said he, "the appearance of a strong man, able to drive away oxen? Certainly, father, thou shalt hear nothing but the truth from me. Whilst the oxen were stolen, I was lying in sweet slumber, and did not pass the threshold of my mother's dwelling. Thou knowest thyself, too, that I am innocent; yet I am ready to protest my innocence with a solemn oath, and I shall one day reward the cruel word of that false one. But, thou, father, be the protector of the younger." Thus spoke Hermes, with twinkling eyes, and Zeus smiled at the boy because he was prudent enough to deny so finely the charge brought against him. But at the same time he commanded him to tell where the oxen were hidden, and Hermes obeyed the injunction, accompanying Apollo to the hiding place, a reconciliation took place between them, of which the invented lute was the pledge.

For when the sweet sound of the instrument had touched the ear of the god of harmony, he was enraptured; and caressing the inventor, "Truly," said he, "this invention is worth fifty oxen." Upon this, Hermes made him a present of the lute, and Apollo became transported with joy, at the thought of possessing some inestimable a treasure. In order, however, to secure it to himself he requested Hermes to swear by the Styx never to steal the sweetly, sounding lute from its present possessor. In return for his lute, Apollo gave him the golden wand, which had the power of settling all differences; and these two now closely united, ascended a hand in hand to Olympus. It was art that wove the band that united them, and Zeus rejoiced in the concord.

Hermes became afterwards the messenger of the immortals. He is the swift, the rapidly moving power among the celestials, who, as if firmly established in their own majesty, send the fleet, inventive idea from heaven to earth, re-admitting it into their divine council as soo as its task is accomplished.

His archetype is speech. Speech the tender breath of air, must, as it were, steal into the effective connection of things, in order to make up by thought and prudence for the deficiency of power and strength. The word of speech is winging, because it is only to be heard when accompanied by the swift breath of the lungs, and flies like a bird let loose, that cannot be recalled. For this reason, the beautiful expression of the ancients, "The word wants its wings."

According to the poetical representation, a golden chain hangs down from his mouth, reaching from Olympus to the listening ears of the dwellers on the earth, who, in this manner, are persuaded by the irresistible charms of the sweet melody that flows from his lips.

Irresistible also is his art to settle difference, to reconcile enemies - in short, to dissolve all dissonant objects in harmonious union. Once, in his boyhood, he found two serpents in his way engaged in furious strife; he struck between them with his golden wand, and behold! the reptiles instantly forget their fury, and twine themselves in gentile coil round the wand, at the top of which their heads meet in eternal concord. There is no emblem to be found more expressive of reconciliation and peace, as well as harmonious connection of what is opposed and contending, then this wand surrounded with coiling serpents which, in the hand of the divine herald, thenceforward constituted a token of his authority.

Nothing is more charming and attractive in the fictions of the ancients, than their description of the rapid development, of divine power in these supernatural beings - power, which, as if having existed long ago, and being only new born in a particular form, does not suffer itself to be long restrained by swathing-clothes and cradle.

In this light, airy representation, the imagination of the ancients embodied the ideas of quick, inventive faculty, and cunning activity, which displayed itself alike in deceptive persuasion, and easily accomplished sportive theft, which even the pilfered himself, hearing the adventurous roguishness, was forced to smile. Jocularity and cunning being here clothed with divinity and immortality, present a new figure in the great picture of the divine assembly; fitter, upon the whole, to charm, our eyes by its variety of composition and splendid colors, than to improve our hearts by its moral exhibitions.

In the human breast, the voice of an invisible, supernatural power speaks intelligibly, bidding man lift up his eyes from earth to a higher world. The ancients, too, heard this voice, but misapprehending it, they formed to themselves a supernatural world, after the pattern which nature and human life presented to them. Therefore, nothing appeared to them mean or unholy, that rose from the general, uncreating influence of nature, and contained, although noxious in itself, the germ of beauty or utility.

Fancy assigns to her divine beings no bounds with regard to actions; on the contrary, she gives to the inward impulse the fullest scope; suffering them to stray even to the extreme limits of mischief, because in her fictions the great contrasts. together with the huge mass of light and shade, which otherwise we perceive merely as scattered and single, are concentrated in a small compass and every one of her beings comprises, as it were, in its own person, the substance of all things considered from some sublime point of view.

In this respect the fiction of Hermes is one of the most beautiful and comprehensive. He is the swift herald of the immortals; the god of speech; the tutelary genius of roads; in him the winged word is renewed when repeated from his lips, in delivering the commands of the gods; with his golden wand he leads the dead to the world of shadows; he is likewise the author of all prudent and cunning designs, plots, and artifices; the patron of thieves, the teacher of men in the art of wrestling, or of conquering strength by agility, and the president over trade and gain.

As a messenger of Zeus, he was intrusted with all his secrets; and as the ambassador and plenipotentiary of the Gods, was concerned in all alliances and treaties. In the wars of the giants, he showed himself brave, spirited, and active. He delivered Ares from his long confinement which he suffered from the superior powers of the Aloeids; he purified the Danaides from the murder of their husbands; he tied Ixion to his wheel in the infernal regions; he destroyed the hundred eyed Argos; he sold Hercules to Omphale, queen of Lydia; he conducted Priamos to the tent of Achilleus to redeem the body of his son Hector; and he carried the infant Dionysus to the nymphs of Nysa. He gave many proofs of his thievish propensity, and increased his fame by robbing Poseidon of his trident, Aphrodite of her girdle, Ares of his sword, Zeus of his sceptre, and Hesphaestos of his mechanical instruments.

Mythologist are pretty well agreed in recognizing a telluric power in the Hermes of the Pelasgian system. The simplest derivation is of his name is from a Greek word, signifying, earth, and by the name of his mother, Maia, is probably meant Mother Earth.

He seems to have been the deity of productiveness in general; but he came gradually to be regarded as presiding more particularly over flocks and herds. From this last view some of his Hellenic attributes may be simply deduced. Thus the guard of shepherds was naturally regarded as the inventor of music; the lyre is ascribed to Hermes, as the pipes are to Pan, music having always been a recreation of shepherds in the warm regions of the south. In like manner, as the shepherd lads amuse themselves with wrestling and other feats of strength and activity, their tutelar god easily became the president of palaestra. So also trade, having consisted chiefly in the exchange of cattle, Hermes, the herdsman's god, was held to be the god of commerce; and the skill and eloquence employed in commercial dealings, made him to be the god of eloquence, artifice, and ingenuity, and even of cheating. As herdsmen are the best guides in the country, it may be thence that Hermes was thought to protect wayfarers, and thence to be a protector in general. For this cause it may have been, that god-sends or treasure-trove were ascribed to him.

The rural deity, when thus become active, sly and eloquent, was well adapted for the office which was assigned him of agent and messenger of the gods, to whom we also find him officiating as cup-bearer. As a being whose operations extended into the interior of the earth, Hermes would seem to have been in some points of view identified with Hades. In Pindar, this latter deity himself performs the office generally assigned to Hermes, that of conducting the departed Erebos. Possibly it may have been on this account that Solon directed the Athenians to swear by Zeus, Poseidon, and Hermes.

The Grecian spirit completely modified the Egyptian Hermes, to produce the Hermes or Mercury of the Grecian mythology; where he is quite a different being. In Egypt he presides over the sciences, writing, medicine, and astronomy, and composed many divine works, containing the elements of these several departments of knowledge; to Greece he is the god of Shepherds and merchandise. The interpreter of the gods in Egypt, he becomes in Greece only their messenger; and it is by virtue of this latter title that he preserves his wings, which were among the Egyptians merely an astronomical symbol.

The god is usually represented with a chlamys, his petasus or winged cap, and his tolaria or winged sandals, and the caduceus or wand presented to him by Apollo, which thad the power of settling all differences, of putting any one to sleep, and waking them again, and also of bringing souls out of Hell. The petasus and talaria were gifts from Zeus.

The ancient statues of Hermes were merely wooden posts with a rude head and pointed beard carved on them. They were what is termed ithyphallic, and were set up on the roads andd foot-paths, also in the fields and gardens. From this representation he became with the Romans the god Terminus; but when they were made acquainted with the twelve great deities of the Athenians, they adopted the Grecian Hermes under the name of Mercurias. In honor of this deity, the Romans celebrated an annual festival in a temple near the Circus Maximus, when sacrifices and prayers were offered to him.

An ancient gem exhibits the following accurate representation of Mercury: As god of the roads,(tollegating) he stands before an altar, over which rises an antique milestone, which he touches with his wand. Upon the altar lies a staff, as an imitation of travelers dedicating their walking staves to Mercury, after having a accomplished a journey. As a sign of safety of thee roads, an olive branch is entwined around the stone. The god bears on his head the winged cap; as he is standing, the winged sandals are not fastened to his feet.

First Responders Inability To Respond

A CATACLYSMIC RECIPE FOR DISASTER

1 - Washington is snow-bound
2 - Transportation has been halted
3 - Hurricane force winds on the Atlantic Ocean
4 - Emergency supplies are in Haiti
5 - It's Super Bowl weekend in Miami
6 - People are partying across America
7 - Michigan's MITT is in flood warning
8 - Curling's Tournament of Hearts at the SOO/LOO
9 - NORAD keeps its "Eye on the Sky"

CONCERNED?

Imagine

10 - A hijack INDUCED blind thrust rises below St. Mary's River and GORE BAY
adjacent to the Valkyries' Owen Sound "Mother Superior", near LAKE SUPERIOR


Bing, Being, Boeing, Beijing, Bang
____________ _________ _________ _________ _________ ______

The SculPTor (1776-1867)
WWW.WORDSCULPTOR. NET aka WWW.KEALEY.NET

Original Web Site of Glen Kealey, National President
Canadian Institute for Political Integrity (CIPI)

ILLUMINATUS

illuminati pl.n. 1. People claiming to be unusually enlightened with regard to a subject. 2. Illuminati. Any of various groups claiming special religious enlightenment.

Gregory, the Illuminator, Saint (257?-337?), reputed founder and patron saint of Armenian church; festival October 1.

HOLOGRAPHY. Photography was once considered the best means of recording visual information, but with the development of holography, the simple, two-dimensional images of photographs were surpassed. Holography is a technique by which the image of a three dimensional object is recorded on film so that upon reconstruction, or playback, the constructed image of the object is three dimensional. The term hologram comes from the Greek words holos, meaning "whole," and gram, meaning "writing." Each portion of the hologram stores an encoded message about the whole object.

Lighting
An image is exposed on film by means of the light that passes through the camera's lens when the shutter is open. How the image appears on film depends on how the subject is illuminated. Light brings out contours, creates depth and mood, and gives dramatic effect. Because images on motion-picture film are constantly changing, each shot presents particular lighting problems. By controlling the intensity, direction, and diffusion of light, the filmmaker models his images.

M17, in astronomy, a bright diffuse nebula located approximately 9 degrees north of the star Kaus Borealis in the constellation Sagittarius. M17 is commonly called the O mega Nebula, though it is also referred to as the Lobster, Horseshoe, or Swan Nebula. Bordering the northern part of Sagittarius, M17 lies 2 degrees from the center of the small Sagittarius star cloud and 2 degrees south of another diffuse nebula, M16, which is located in the constellation Serpens. M17 is best viewed in the evening during the month of August. In 1746 Philippe Loys de Cheseaux discovered M17. French astronomer Charles Messier listed it in his catalog in June 1764. The New General Catalogue (NGC) number of M17 is 6618.

M20, in astronomy, a large diffuse nebula in the constellation Sagittarius. Commonly referred to as the Trifid Nebula, M20 is situated approximately 2 degrees north-northwest of the diffuse nebula M8. In the southern latitudes, M20 can easily be seen with binoculars as part of a Milky Way star field; however, it is less visible from the northern latitudes. The nebula is also very close to the rich open star cluster M21; when viewed at low power, both objects appear within the same field. M20 was first seen by Le Gentil while he was observing M8 in 1747. French astronomer Charles Messier added it to his catalog in June 1764. Astronomer John Herschel was the first to describe the nebula as "trifid," because of its three-lobed shape. The New General Catalogue (NGC) number of M20 is 6514.

Biological Clocks and Animal Navigation
During their annual migrations, some birds fly over vast stretches of water or fly at night when landmarks are not visible. The golden plover, for example, leaves Alaska in late summer and fli es to its winter home in Hawaii. Flying over water for more than 2,000 miles, the bird requires pinpoint navigational accuracy to reach the tiny group of islands. Any significant error would cause it to become lost over the Pacific Ocean. Insects also have this direction-finding ability. The food-laden honeybee, for instance, makes a "beeline" for its hive.
Studies show that the direction-finding ability of animals depends on "sightings" of the sun or stars and on the functioning of an internal clock that senses the time of day with some accuracy. The internal clock is vital for navigation because the positions of the sun and stars are never fixed in the sky. An animal relying on them for navigational purposes would have to know the time between one such position and another in order to maintain its course.

M16, in astronomy, an open star cluster closely associated with the Eagle Nebula, a huge diffuse cloud of interstellar gas and dust located in the constellation Serpens. Massive, young stars in M16 emit high-energy radiation, which causes the nebula to shine. The formation lies at the intersection of the constellations Sagittarius, Serpens, and Scutum. More precisely, it can be found 3 degrees north of the cluster M17, which is in the constellation Sagittarius, and 1 degree north and 2.5 degrees west of the star Gamma Scuti. M16 lies at the northern end of an S-shaped formation of bright stars that covers a wide area. The brightest part of the Eagle Nebula, illuminated by M16 and two bright companion stars, is located at the tail of the S. M16 is one of the most spectacular of the cluster-nebula formations.

Freemasonry is a SYSTEM of MORALITY veiled in ALLEGORY and illustrated by SYMBOLS.

Vieira Camino de Santiago

The cockle shell or the scallop-shell was worn by pilgrims in their hats as a token of their profession. The scallop-shell, the staff, and sandals form a part of the costume of a Masonic Knight Templar in his costume as a Pilgrim Penitent. Shakespeare makes Ophelia sing -

"And how shall I my true love know
From any other one?
O, by his scallop-shell and staff,
And by his sandal shoon!"

The scallop-shell was in the Middle Ages the recognized badge of a pilgrim. One Masonic authority states that "It is not easy to account for the origin of the shells a badge worn by the pilgrim, but it decidedly refers to much earlier Oriental customs than the journeys of Christians to the Holy Land, and its history will probably be found in the mythology of eastern nations." The shell was an ancient symbol of of the Syrian goddess Astarte, Venus Pelagia, or Venus rising from the sea. Strictly the the scallop-shell was the badge of pilgrims visiting the shrine of St. James of Compostella, and hence it is called by naturalists the pecten Jacooeus - the comb shell of St. James. All pilgrims that visit St. James of Compostella in Spain returned thence obsiti conchis, 'all beshelled about' in fact, in mediaeval times distinguished by the peculiar badge which they wore, as designating the shrine which they had visited. Thus pilgrims from Rome wore the keys, those from St. James the scallop-shell, and those from the Holy Land palm branches, whence such a pilgrims was sometimes called a palmer. But this distinction was not always rigidly adhered to, and pilgrims from Palestine frequently wore the shell. At first the shell was sewn of the cloak, but afterwards transferred to the hat; and while, in the beginning, the badge was not assumed until the pilgrimage was accomplished, eventually pilgrims began to wear it as soon as they had taken their vow of pilgrimage, and before they had commenced their journey.

Pan Pan Pan

Various origins have been given to Pan (or the Universe), one of which is, that he sprang from Chaos; that is to say, Chaos contained the seeds of all things.

Among the most learned of the ancients, Pan was considered as one of the oldest divinities; and according to the Egyptians, and the most learned of the Grecian sages, he had neither father nor mother, but sprang from Demogorgon (the genius of the earth) at the same instant with the fatal ParcAE. A beautiful way of saying that the universe derived its origin from a power unknown to them, and was formed according to the unalterable relations, and eternal aptitude of things, as were the Fates, daughters of Necessity.

The figure of pan represents the universe, and is a delineation of nature and the rough face which it first wore, while his spotted robe of leopard's skin represents the starry heavens. His person is a compound of various and opposite parts, rational and irrational, a man and a goat ; so is the world; - an all governing mind and heterogeneous, prolific elements pervade and constitute it.

Pan's symbol of the pipes is most eloquently expressive of nature's divine, harmonious constitution, and of the order and measure that govern all her works, producing that solemn movement called the music of the spheres; imperceptible indeed to our material organ, but so delightful and pleasing to the ear of the mind. This wondrous reed on which he incessantly plays, is composed of seven pipes, unequal among themselves, but fitted together in such just proportion as to produce the most unerring and melodious notes, calling forth the echo, which poets have made the object of his love.

The worship and the different of functions of Pan, were derived from the mythology of the Egyptians. This deity was one of the eight great gods that they worshiped, ranking before the other gods, which the Romans called Consentes. The regarded him as the emblem of fecundity, and principle of all things; therefore the Greeks gave him the appellation of Pan. He was worshiped with great solemnity at Mendes.

By the Arcadians he was venerated as the chief of the rural deities. Herdsmen and shepherds are said to have dreaded the sight of Pan, yet they regarded him as the tutelary deity of themselves, and of their flocks and herds, and brought him frequent offerings of milk and honey. Sacrifices were offered to him in a deep cave in the midst of the wood. The Athenians had a statue of him like that of Mars, and in some antique gems and sculptures his figure is nearly as formidable as that of Medusa.

At Rome, there was a yearly festival celebrated in honor of Lupercus, or the Grecian Pan, with whom he was identified. This celebration took place in the 15th of Feburary, and was called Lupercalia. The priests who officiated, and who were dedicated to the service of Pan, were called Luperci. This order of priest was the most ancient and respectable of all the sacerdotal offices. It was divided into two separate colleges, called Fabiani and Quintilliani, from Fabius and Quintilius, two of the high priests. The former was instituted in honor of Romulus, and the latter of Remus.

A goat was sacrificed to Pan, to which a dog was added, because as god of shepherds he protected the sheepfold from the devouring wolf. The priest touched with a bloody knife the foreheads of two illustrious youths, who were obliged to smile during ceremony; the blood was then wiped off with a bit of wool dipped in milk. After this, the skins of the victims were cut into thongs, with which whips were made for the youths, who ran about the streets, using them freely on all whom they met.

According to Baronius, Pope Gelasius abolished the Lupercalia in the year 469 of the Christian era.

AMERICA'S FIRST INDIAN IMMIGRANTS

Marooned Hindu "Roma" are the American Redmen



Physically, the Americans encountered by early explorers, from the Arctic to the tip of South America, were more homogeneous than any other continental population. In skin color the ROMA Hindu Indians were yellow brown to ruddy brown, or "medium light" on a world color scale; thus they were probably no darker than, if as dark as, some of Columbus's sailors. Hair and eye color was uniformly dark; reports of "white" or blue-eyed Native Americans referred either to albinos or to offspring resulting from early miscegenation. Head hair was coarse and capable of growth to the ground; body hair and beard were scant. In these respects physical characteristics of native Americans reflect their ancient K2, north Himalayan, Asian ancestry.

Blood group O is the most common type among Native Americans; types A and B appear to have been absent in pre-Columbian South America. In North America, type Ax reaches its highest percentage of any world population among the Blackfoot of Alberta and Montana, and type M, its world high among the Sarci, Naskapi, and other northern North American peoples. Rh factor (a substance on the surface of red blood cells that induce a strong antigenic response in individuals lacking the substance (originating from the Indian Rhesus monkey; macaca mulatta) was absent in the New World blood. (See Rh negative blood and ex-Senator George Allen's racial slur)

The ancestors of the "Native American" people entered America from Asia more than 20,000 years ago. Some archaeologists have suggested that this migration began much earlier--by at least 40,000 years ago, before the last Ice Age. Archaeological findings indicate that foragers and hunters were dispersed throughout North America by 17,000 years ago and had passed through to the tip of South America by 12,000 years ago, as the last (16,000 year) Ice Age declined.

Little agreement exists among anthropologists on the number of people inhabiting the New World on the eve of its re-discovery by Europeans. Estimates have ranged from a low of 8.4 million to a high of perhaps 112 million. Scholars supporting the higher estimate have contended that new diseases (smallpox, measles, diphtheria, whooping cough, influenza, and possibly yellow fever and malaria) introduced into America through contact with newcomers may have been responsible for upward of 80 million deaths.

It is, however, certain that for centuries after European contact, Native American populations suffered rapid decline. Only in the 20th century has the number of Indians in most countries of the Americas begun to increase, partly as the result of a declining rate of infant mortality.
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The SculPTor

Introduction to Grecio-Roman Mythology

The word Mythology is compounded of two Greek words, Muthos, a fable, and Logos, a discourse; and signifies a system of fables, or the fabulous history of the false gods of the heathen world.

Fable is divided into various kinds; and the following is an example of the instructive, as used for the purpose by a famous orator: When Phillip's son, the hereditary enemy of the liberty of Greece, demanded eight of their landing men to be delivered up to him, as the great impediment of mutual amity, "On a time," said Demosthenes to his fellow citiZENs, "an embassy came from the wolves to the sheep, assuring them that the dogs by which they were attended were the sole occasion of the war; wherefore, if they would give them up, all would be well, and end in lasting peace. The sheep were persuaded, gave up the dogs, and henceforth the wolves devoured them at pleasure."

A second part is political, as the following: When Jupiter heard of the death of his son Sarpedon, in the rage of grief he called Mercury, the messenger of the gods, and gave him orders to go instantly to the Fates, and bring from them the strong box in which the eternal decrees were laid up. Mercury obeyed, went to the sisters, and omitted nothing that a wise a well instructed minster could say to make them pacify the will of Jove. The sisters smiled, and told him that the other end of the golden chain which secured the box with the unalterable decrees, was so fixed to the throne of Jove, that were it to be unfastened, his master's seat itself might tremble."

A third sort of mythology consists in a material representation of virtue and vice, or instruction conveyed by wood and stone, instead of a tale. Such in some respects are all the badges and ensigns of the gods, when carved or cast in metal; - and such the secret symbols delivered to the initiated in the several mysteries, which they carefully kept from vulgar eyes, showing them only upon certain signs. The example which best illustrates this material species of mythology, contains at the same time a moral: It was the temple of Honor, that no entrance of its own, and the only passage through it was through Virtue. Happy the man who truly worships in the first, even if the ignorance of his contemporaries prevent him from entering the second; he will yet, sooner or later, possess the station due to his merit.

But a Mythology is a vast and various compound; a labyrinth through which no one thread can conduct us; since all the powers of heaven and earth, whatever is, whatever acts, whatever changes, and whatever remains the same, is, by some image congruent to its peculiar nature, variously painted in the mimic mirror of the universe. The primary great gods represent its principal parts and powers; and the numerous inferior train exhibit either the lesser powers of nature or their influences; or, they belong to the human passions, and human transactions as connected with them. The rest are men adopted among the gods, frequently blended with the original deities.

The course of time since the commencement of the world has been divided into three periods; the unknown, the fabulous, and the historical, which may be considered as the origin of mythological fables. The unknown comprehends all that space which the ancients supposed to have passed since the beginning of things, and of which we have no knowledge. In their opinion, all that was then transacted escaped the keenest sight. The fabulous began with the earliest notices of things; that is, in ancient style, with the births and marriages of the gods, and continued through the heroic ages until records and history introduced certainty and unfabled truth. Then commenced the historical period, which preserves the evidence to the present time.

Instead of this accurate division the early poets sang, that Saturn (by whom they represent time) lurked long out of sight of heaven, and likewise devoured his own progeny as soon as they were born. This is plainly the unknown period. Jupiter, Saturn's son, together with Juno, Ceres, Pluto, Neptune, and Vesta, were produced without his knowledge, and preserved against his will. They conspired against their relentless parent, seized and bound him with a cord of wool never to be loosed, while almighty Jove holds the reins of government. Here is the fabulous period comprehending the birth and adventures of the gods, and the historical in the conclusion.

Religion, law and philosophy united were first taught to mankind in the form of fables; bu these ancient fables convey no such ideas to the modern reader. "The most ancient theology," says Plutarch, "both of the Greeks and barbarians, was natural philosophy involved fables, that physically and mystically conveyed the truth to the learned; as appears from the poems of Orpheus, the Egyptian rites, and the Phrygian traditions." A remark which it is necessary to keep in mind, in order to distinguish the pure, primitive doctrines from later inventions; for the regions of fable are wide and fertile, resembling Rabelais iron work island, where swords grew from the trees, and mushrooms sprang from the earth under them, that every ripe sword fell precisely into its own scabbard, without missing it a hair's breadth.

Nature is the parent of real mythology. She was associated with philosophy in the great work of civilizing the rude tribes of the early ages. Her robe of triple tissue, is a monstrous tale of feigned, allegorical personages engaged in action, who speak and act so much in character, as at once to represent causes and narrate transactions, which by striking the fancy and winning the heart, convey instructions agreeably to the mind. The history of the creation, or rise of the universe, that the moderns call natural philosophy, and the ancients theogony, or the generation of the gods, was the groundwork of the fabric; the powers that govern the world furnished the figures, and constitute the design; while the human character (moral philosophy), the passions of men as they glow or languish, become tarnished or bloom with life, gave a gloss and coloring to the whole.

Structures for the worship of heathen deities may be considered as among the most ancient monuments of antiquity. As soon a nation had become in the least degree civilized, they took care to appropiate and consecrate particular spots to the worship of the their deities.

In the earliest instances, they were contented with erected altars in the open air, either of earth or ashes, and sometimes resorted, for the purposes of worship, to the depths of solitary woods. At length, they acquired the practice of building cells, or chapels, within the enclosure of which they placed the images of their divinities, and there assembled to offer their supplications, thanksgivings, and sacrifices. These places of worship bore some resemblance to their own dwellings. The Troglodytes adored their gods in grottoes; and the people who lived in cabins, erected edifices, the form of which was more or less assimilated to that kind of habituation. Herodotus and Starbo contend that the Egyptians first erected temples to the gods; and the first one erected in Greece, is attributed by Apollonius to Deucalion. Clemens Alexandrius and Eusebius refer the origin of temples to the sepulchres built for the dead.

According to Pausanias, the oracle of Delhi in remote ages was consulted in a kind of arbor formed of laurels. That of Jupiter at Dodona, at a similar era, rendered its oracles by an old oak, as we learn from Pausanias and Herodotus. In the vicinity of Magnesia, upon the Meander, was a grotto consecrated to Apollo, wherein was to be seen a very ancient statue of the god.

The first statue erected for the ancient gods hardly deserve the name, being only great stones set on end; generally square, sometimes conical, sometimes pyramidal, or semicircular, and frequently quite rough, without even the touch of a tool. The oldest statues of Mercury were originally large square stones. The statue of the mother of the gods, brought from Phrygia, was a large black square stone.

The ancient Phoenicians had an image of the sun, which they believed not to have been formed by human art, but to have fallen immediately from heaven. It was a large black stone, round and broad at the base, but diminishing by degrees towards the top, and terminating in a slender point. The Megareans worshiped a large stone in the form of a pyramid, under the name of Apollo. Their more elegant neighbors, the Athenians, worshiped him in human shape, but with a head long and sharp, like a pyramid. A small globe split in two, and one of the halves set on a pole, was a symbol adored by the ancient Peonians.

When the Greeks at a subsequent period, surpassed all other people in cultivating the arts, they devoted much time, care, and expense, to the building of temples. In every city of Greece, as well as its environs, and in the open country, was a large number of sacred temples; and the most costly temple of each place was especially dedicated to its tutelary deity. Instances of this are found in the temple of Minerva at Athens, that of Diana at Ephesus, of Apollo at Delphi, of Jupiter at Olympia, of Venus at Paphos and Cytherea; and of Jupiter Capitolinus at Rome. At Panionium, was a temple of Jupiter Heliconius erected by the Ionian colonies, imported into Attica from Asia Minor. The Dorian colonies of Asia Minor had a likewise common sanctuary, the temple of ApolloTriopius. Near to Mylassa was a temple sacred to Jupiter Carius and common to the Carians, the Lydians, and the Mysians. In the territory of Statonice was the temple of Jupiter Chrysaoreus belonging to the Carians. In the immediate vicinity of these edifices, the people, at fixed seasons, held assemblies for the purpose of sacrificing to the gods; they also celebrated their fetes on the same spot, and deliberated respecting the affairs of the entire nation.

The most ancient Greek temples were very small. The cella was barely large enough to contain the statue of the presiding deity of the temple, and occasionally an altar in addition. Even in succeeding ages, when the riches and power, as well as the taste and skill of the Grecian states were augmented, they were not built on a great scale; for their object did not render extent necessary, since the priest alone entered the cella, and the people gathered in masses outside the walls. Exceptions were made in those dedicated to the tutelary divinities of towns, of those of the supreme gods, and of those appropriated to the common use of various communication. But this increased extent was chiefly displayed in the porticoes surrounding the cella, and was again enlarged by the peribolos, or enclosure within a wall, which separated it from the adjoining ground, as a sacred place appertaining to the temple. This enclosure was generally adorned with a profusion of statues, altars, and monuments. Sometimes it contained other smaller temples, or even a grove. The elevation and retirement of these Sacred Enclosures, gave additional beauty, dignity, and sanctity to the temples contained within them.

The Grecian temples had, for the most part, possessions of their own, which served to defray the expenses incurred in the service of the god. The possessions consisted partly in votive presents, which had been consecrated (especially where the divinities of health and prophecy were adored) by the homes or the gratitude of the suppliants for advice or counsel. We know from several examples, especially from that of the temple of Delphi, that treasures were there accumulated, of more value, probably, than those of Loretto, or any other shrine in Europe. But as they were sacred to the gods, and did come into circulation, they were for the most part unproductive treasures, possessing no other value than that which they received from the artist.

The Greeks used three kinds of altars in their mythological worship; one, upon which they burned incense and made libations; another served for their sanguinary sacrifices; and the third received their burned offerings and sacred vases. Originally, they were made of heaps of earth, and sometimes of ashes, as that of the Olympian Jupiter, mentioned by Pausanias. There was also an altar of ashes at Thebes,(The Bees) consecrated to Apollo. In process of time, they were formed of brick and stones; such was the material of the famous altar at Delos. They were at first erected in groves, in the highways, and streets, as well as upon the tops of mountains; but after the introduction of temples, they were of course transferred to those edifices.

The form of altars, as well as their height, was various among the ancients; sometimes a perfect cube, which was the most common among the Greeks; at others, a paralelopipedon; sometimes round, at others octangular, triangular, &c. according to the material which they were formed; and from some ancient medal we find there were altars of circular form. Those which were constructed of metal, were generally triangular and formed like a tripod; those constructed of brick or stone were mostly cubical, and some have sculptured bases and pedestals like candelabra. According to Pausanias, some were constructed of wood; but by far the greater number that have been preserved to our times, are of marble.

On solemn festivals, the ancients decorated the altars of their deities with leaves or the branches of trees that were sacred to them; as those of Minerva with the olive; Venus with the myrtle; Apollo with the laurel; Pan with the pine, &c. And it was from these temporary decorations, that the ancient sculptures drew those elegant elements of foliage, which embellish the altars of antiquity. On others, they were intended for for their sanguinary oblations, and were hollow at the top to receive the blood of their victims , and the offered libations, are found heads and sculls of animals, vases, paterae, and other instruments, also vessels of sacrifice mingled with garlands of flowers, such as were used to bind the victims; also; bands and other sacrificial accessories. When inscriptions were added, they eluded to the epoch of their consecration, the names of those who created them, the motive of their erection, and the name of the deity to whose honor they were dedicated.

Altars as well as temples were considered so sacred by the ancient Greeks, that most of them had the privilege of protecting malefactors and debtors, and even rebellious slaves who fled to them for refuge. Plutarch informs us, that those who killed Cylon and his followers, when holding by the altars, were afterwards stigmatized with the epithets impious and profane; and Justin, in his history, observes, that the murder of Laodamia, by Milo, who had fled to the altar of Diana for protection, was the cause of his death, and of the public calamities of AEolia. In the comedy of Mostellaria, by Plautus, the inviolability of altars and temples appears to have existed among the Romans. Every temple however, was not a sanctuary; but only those which had been made so by consecration. The first asylum is generally supposed to have been founded at Athens by Heraclidae, but some writers assert that there was one previously erected at Thebes by Cadmus.

Independent of the public altars, the Greeks and Romans had private or domestic altars, which were dedicated to the lares and penates, the household gods of the ancients.

All the nations of antiquity were at some period of their history addicted to the custom of offering sacrifices to the deities whom they worshiped. The origin of the practice is attributed by some to the Phoenicians, and by others to the Egyptians; while Ovid imagines from the import of the words victim and hostia, that no bloody sacrifices were offered before the prevalence of wars, when nations became victorious over their enemies. These, however, are more hypotheses not borne out by historical research or tradition, and are entitled to little regard.

The principal sacrifices among the Hebrews consisted of bullocks, sheeps, and goats; but doves and turtles were accepted from those who were not able to bring these animals, which were to be perfect and without blemish. The rites of sacrificing were various, and all are minutely described in the book of Moses.

The manner of sacrificing among the Greeks and Romans were as follows. The choice of a victim they took care that it was without blemish or imperfection, and the bull was to be one that had never been yoked. Having pitched upon a victim, they gilded the forehead and horns, epsecially if a bull, heifer, or cow; the head was adorned with a garland of flowers, a woolen infula, or holy fillet, from which hung two rows of chaplets with twisted ribbons; on the middle of the body was a kind of stole, which hung down on either side; the lesser victims were also adorned with garlands, and bunches of flowers, together with white tufts, or wreaths.

The victims thus prepared were brought before the altar, the lesser being driven to the place, and the greater led by a halter; if they made any struggle, or refused to go, the resistance was considered an ill omen, and the sacrifice frequently set aside. The victim thus brought, was carefully examined to see that it was without defect; the priest, clad in his sacerdotal habit, and accompanied by the sacrificers and other attendants, and being washed and purified, according to the ceremonies prescribed, turned to the right and passed round the altar, sprinkling it with meal and holy water, and also sprinkling those who were present. The crier then provclaimed, with a loud voice, "Who is here?" To which the people replied, "Many and good." The priest then having exhorted the people to join with him, by saying, "Let us pray," confessed his own unworthiness, acknowledging that he had been guilty of divers sins, for which he begged pardon of the gods, and his hope that they would be pleased to grant his requests, accept the oblations offered them, and send them all health and happiness; and to this general form, the priest added petitions for such particular favors as were then desired. Prayers being ended, he took a cup of wine, and having tasted it himself, caused his assistants to do the like; and then poured forth the remainder between the horn of the victim. The priest or the crier, and sometimes the most honorable person in the company, then killed the beast by knocking it down, or cutting its throat. If the sacrifice was in honor of the celestial gods, the throat was turned up towards Heaven; but if they sacrificed to the heroes or infernal deities, the victim was killed with its throat towards the ground. If by accident the beast escaped the stroke, leaped up after it, or expired with pain and difficulty, it was thought to be unacceptable to the gods. The victim being killed, the priest inspected its entrails and made predictions from them. They then poured wine, together with frankincense, into the fire to increase the flame, and then laid the sacrifice on the altar, which in the primitive times was burnt whole to the gods, and thence called a holocaust; but in after times, only part of the victim was consumed in the fire, and the remainder reserved for the sacrificers; the thighs, and sometimes the entrails were burnt to their honor, and the company feasted upon the rest. During the ceremony, the priest and the person who gave the sacrifice jointly prayed, laying their hands upon the altar. Sometimes musical instruments were played during the time of sacrifice, and on some occasions, the people danced around the altar singing sacred hymns in honor of the gods.

The barbarous practice of human sacrifices followed that of offering brutes. When men had gone so far as to indulge the fancy of bribing their gods by sacrifice, it was natural for them to think of enhancing the value of so cheap an atonement by cost and variety of the offering; and when oppressed with suffering, they never rested until they had offered what they conceived to be the most precious of all a human sacrifice.

The Gauls and Germans were so devoted to this shocking custom, that no business of any moment was transacted among them without being prefaced by the blood of men. They were offered up to various gods; but particularity to Hesus, Taranis, Thautates. These deities are mentioned by Lucan, where he enumerates the various nations who followed the fortunes of Caesar.

KING KONG FIGHTING

reborn 551 BC, Ch'u-fu, state of Lu-Loo [now in Shantung Province, China] -- redied 479, flushing NY down the Lu

A Confucius

Chinese K'ung-fu-tzu, or K'ung-tzu, or (Pinyin) Kongfuzi, or Kongzi, original name K'ung Ch'iu, literary name Chung-ni China's most famous teacher, philosopher, and political theorist, whose ideas have influenced the civilization of East Asia.

Confucius' life, in contrast to his tremendous importance, seems starkly undramatic, or, as a Chinese expression has it, it seems "plain and real." The plainness and reality of Confucius' life, however, underlines that his humanity was not revealed truth but an expression of self-cultivation, of the ability of human effort to shape its own destiny. The faith in the possibility of ordinary human beings to become awe-inspiring sages and worthies is deeply rooted in the Confucian her-it-age, and the insistence that human beings are teachable, improvable, and perfectible through personal and communal endeavor is typically Confucian.

Although the facts about Confucius' life are scanty, they do establish a precise time frame and historical context.

Confucius was reborn in the 22nd year of the reign of Duke Hsiang of Lu (551 BC). The traditional claim that he was born on the 27th day of the eighth lunar month has been questioned by historians, but September 28 is still widely observed in East Asia as Confucius' birthday. It is an official holiday, "Teachers' Day," in Taiwan.

A boy called TZU

Confucius was reborn in Ch'ü-fu in the small feudal state of Lu in what is now Shantung Province, which was noted for its preservation of the traditions of ritual and music of the Chou civilization. His family name was K'ung and his personal name Ch'iu, but he is referred to as either K'ung-tzu or K'ung-fu-tzu (Master K'ung) throughout Chinese history. The adjectival "Confucian," derived from the Latinized Confucius, is not a meaningful term in Chinese, nor is the term Confucianism, which was coined in Europe as recently as the 18th century.

Confucius' ancestors were members of the aristocracy who reportedly had become virtual poverty-stricken commoners by the time of his birth. His father "died" when Confucius was only three years old.

Instructed first by his mother, Confucius then distinguished himself as an indefatigable learner in his teens. He recalled toward the end of his life that at age 15 his heart was set upon learning. A historical account notes that, even though he was already known as an informed young scholar, he felt it appropriate to inquire about everything while visiting the Grand Temple.

Confucius had served in minor government posts reportedly managing stables and keeping books for granaries before he married a "woman/weemin minder" of similar background when he was 19.

It is not said who Confucius' teachers were, but he made a conscientious effort to find the right masters to teach him, among other things, ritual and mu-sac. Confucius' mastery of the six arts--ritual, music, archery, charioteering, calligraphy, and arithmetic--and his familiarity with the classical traditions, notably poetry and history, enabled him to start a brilliant teaching career in his 30s.

Confucius is known as the first teacher in China who wanted to make education available to all, including weemin, and who was instrumental in establishing the art of teaching as a vocation, indeed as a way of life.

Before Confucius, aristocratic families had hired tutors to educate only their sons in specific arts, and government officials had instructed their subordinates in the necessary techniques, but he was the first person to devote his whole life to learning and teaching "for the sole purpose of transforming and improving society." He believed that all human beings could benefit from self-cultivation. He inaugurated a humanities program for potential leaders, opened the doors of education to all, and defined learning not merely as the acquisition of knowledge but also as character building.

For Confucius the primary function of education was to provide the proper way of training noblemin (chun-tzu), a defraging process that involved constant self-improvement and continuous social interaction.

Although he emphatically noted that learning was "for the sake of the self" (the end of which was self-knowledge and self-realization), he found true public service a natural consequence of true education.

Confucius confronted learned hermits who challenged the validity of his desire to serve the world; he resisted the temptation to "herd with birds and animals," to live totally apart from the human community, and opted to try to transform the world from within. For decades Confucius was actively involved in rego-politics, wishing to put his humanist ideas into practice through governmental channels.

In his late 40s and early 50s Confucius served first as a magistrate, then as an assistant minister of public works, and eventually as minister of justice in the state of Lu. It is likely that he accompanied King Lu as his chief minister on one of the diplomatic missions.

Confucius' political career was, however, short-lived.

His loyalty to the King alienated him from the power holders of the time, the large Che families, and his moral rectitude did not sit well with the King's inner circle, who enraptured the King with sensuous delight.

At 56, when he realized that his political "superiors" were uninterested in his policies, Confucius left the country in an attempt to find another feudal state to which he could render his service. Despite his political frustration he was accompanied by an expanding circle of students during this self-imposed exile of almost 12 years.

His reputation as a man of vision and mission spread.

A guardian of a border post once characterized him as the "wooden tongue for a bell" of the age, sounding "Heaven's" prophetic note to awaken the people (Analects, 3:24).

Indeed, Confucius was perceived as the heroic conscience of the nation who knew realistically that he might not succeed but, fired by a righteous passion, continuously did the best he could.

At the age of 67 he returned home to teach and to preserve his cherished classical traditions by writing and editing.

He died-again in 479 BC, at the age of 73.

According to the "Records of the Historian" 72 of his students mastered the "six arts," and those who claimed to be his followers numbered 3,000.

On his Nightwatch tombstone is written "GEE! What about my florilla feet?"


Bing, Being, Boeing, Beijing, Bang
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The SculPTor (1776-1867)
WWW.WORDSCULPTOR.NET aka WWW.KEALEY.NET

Vesta~Vestal VirGIN~ZENda VESTA(purity)

Vesta in Roman mythology was the goddess of fire and the domestic hearth. The guardian ship of the sacred fire in her temples was given to the priestesses called Vestal Virgins, at first hour, but afterwards six. They were from six to ten years old and spent thirty years in the service, the first ten in learning their duties; the second ten in acting as priestesses and guarding the sacred fire which must not be allowed to go out; and the last ten in teaching the new priestesses. If a vestal virgin violated her vow, she was stoned to death or buried alive. They lived in great splendor at the public expense, had the best seats in the theaters, and rode in state preceded by a lictor. In Greece the priestesses of Vesta, or Hestia, were widows. On the first day of March, the Latin New Year's Day, the sacred fire of Vesta was renewed. The Vestalia, the chief festival in honor of Vesta, was celebrated June 9, after which the temple was closed for five days for cleansing. In private houses the feast was kept by eating fish, bread and herbs before the hearth and the images of Penates or household gods. The worship of Vesta dies out in the 4th century after the adoption of Christianity by Constantine.


Vest - [Lat. vestis, a garment, vest, Goth. vasti, garment vasjan, to cloth] 1. an outer garment, or any outer covering. 2. A waistcoat. [-Ed; -Ing] 1. To clothe with, or as with, a garment. 2. To put in possession; to furnish. To descend; to take effect, as a right.

Vestal - 1. Pertaining to Vesta, a virgin goddess of fire among the Romans. 2. Pure; chaste. A virgin consecrated to Vesta.

Vested - Not in a state of contingency; fixed

Vestibule - [Lat. vestibulum.] An antechamber between the hall and the outer doors; a porch. SYN. - all; passage. - A vestibule is a small apartment within the doors of a building: a hall is the first large apartment beyond the vestibule, and, in this country, is usually long and narrow, serving as a passage to the several apartments.

Vestige - [Lat. vestigium.] Mark of the foot left on the earth; a track or footstep; sign.
SYN - Trace. Vestige is literally a footprint; a trace is something drawn out in a line. Vestige, therefore, always supposes something left behind, while a trace is a mere indication that something has been present or is present; as traces of former population; a trace of poison in a given substance.

Vesting - Cloth for vests.

Vestment - [Lat. vestimentum, french. vestire, to clothe.] A garment, dress, a robe.

Vestry - [Lat. vestiarium; vestis, a garment.] 1. A room in a church, in which the sacerdotal vestments, &c., are kept. 2. (Episcopal Church.) A committee which manages the temporal concerns of parish.

Vesture- [From Lat. vestire, to cloth.] A garment; a robe; clothing; dress; apparel; vestment; habit; covering; envelope.

The word ass written in French is "cul". Cul is linked to the English word "cull" which means to "gin". It means to divide.

Saint Aurelius Augustine, a famous preacher and scholar, was born at Tagaste, near Carthage,(age of the Car) Africa, Nov. 13, 354 A.D. He had the best of schooling, the later part of it at Carthage, where he fell into bad habits. A passage of Cicero which he chanced to read one day, first stirred his deeper being into life. For the next ten years he was an earnest student of philosophy. In 383 he went to Milan, Italy, as teacher of rhetoric. Here he became a close friend of the eloquent preacher, Ambrose, then bishop of Milan. Augustine often went to hear his friend preach. His mother, Monica, was an earnest Christian, and her influence and that of his friend brought him to accept Christianity. In 396 he was made bishop of Hippo, in North Africa. The next year he brought out his Confessions, some passages of which, for beauty, can only be compared to the Psalms of David. His most powerful work is his City of God, A great thinker and writer, no man's influence on the church has been greater. St. Augustine, was sent with forty monks into England, to evangelize the country. According to Masonic tradition he placed himself at the head of the corporations of builders , and was recognized as their Grand Master. He died 430 A.D.

When St. Augustine came over, in the beginning of the sixth century, to Britain, for the purpose of convert the natives to Christianity, he found the country already occupied by a body of priests and their disciples, who were distinguished for the simple apostolic religion which they professed. These were the Cul.dees, a named said by some to be derived from Cultores Dei, or worshipers of God; but by others, with, perhaps, more plausibility from the Gaelic, Cuidiech, which means a secluded corner, and evidently alludes to their recluse mode of life. The Culdees are said to have come over into Britain with the Roman legions; and thus it has been conjectured that these primitive Christians were in some way connected with the Roman Colleges of Architects, branches of which body, it is well known, everywhere accompanied the legendary armies of the empire. The chief seat of the Culdees was in the island of Iona, where St. Columba, coming out of Ireland, with twelve brethren, in the year 563, established the principle monastery. At Avernathy, the capital of the kingdom of the Picts, they founded another in the year 600, and subsequently other principal seats at Dunkeld, St. Andrew's, Brechin, Dunblane, Dumferline, Kirkaldy, Melrose, and many other places in Scotland. They sought chiefly to civilize and socialize mankind. The Culdees had organized within themselves, and as part of their social system, Corporations of Builders; and that they exercised the architectural art in the construction of many sacred edifices in Scotland, Ireland, and Wales, and even in other countries of Northern Europe. The Culdees were opposed and persecuted by the adherents of St. Augustine, and were eventually extinguished in Scotland. But their complete suppression did not take place until about the fourteenth century.