Chapter XXXIII (3)

SAINT PATRICK, introduction of Christianity into Ireland not due to him,
41;
his share in the work of evangelisation, 42, 43, 364;
meaning of _Nemph-Thur_, the name of his birthplace, 114 _n._;
his holocaust of Irish literature, 135, 415, 416;
his alleged “granary” at Down, 164;
his pagan master, Milco Mac-Huanan, 203, 204;
the only sense in which he can be regarded as having extirpated snakes
from Ireland, 360-364;
analogous legend in the _Puranas_, 362, 363;
not the originator of the Irish alphabet, 416;
nor of the national veneration for the shamrock, 439, 440.

SAINT PAUL, as to the possibility of Ireland having been evangelised by,
41.

SALSETTE, subterranean temple at, 215, 216.

SAMONA, a title for the priests and images of Buddha, 141.

SANDWICK (Ross-shire), description of symbolic sculpture on obelisk at,
305-9.

SATI, or PARVATI (Hindu), and Mahadeva, parents of the _Lingajas_ and
_Yonijas_, 260.

SCAPEGOAT, corresponding observance connected with R. T., 170, 172;
similar observance in upper India, 172 _n._

SCATTERY ISLAND, its round tower and seven churches, 206.

SCOTI and SCOTIA, the latter originally identical with _Scythia_, 54;
SCOTI, a name for the Irish, 54 _n._, 429;
the _Scoto-Brigantes_ and their invasion of Ireland, 426;
distinct from the Scandinavian invasion, 426;
connection of the Scoti with Spain, 426 _n._;
their amalgamation with the Firbolgs, 428;
change of the name _Irin_ into _Scotia_, 429;
date at which the former name was resumed, 429;
_Scotia Major_ and _Scotia Minor_, and substitution of the latter for
_Albania_ as the name of Scotland, 429 _n._;
retention of _Scoti_ as a name for the Irish, 429 _n._;
friendship between the Picts and Scots, and adoption by the former of
Scotia as a name for their country, 431;
rupture of this friendship, 431;
the _Scoto-Milesians_, 432.

Scotland, exile of the Danaan Boreades to, 56;
persecution of the latter by the Picts, 57 _n._;
round towers in, 10, 431.

SCOTUS (Johannes). See ERIGENA.

SCRABALL (head-tax), as to its levy for the purpose of building palaces
at Tara, 89, 90.

SCYTHIANS, date of their conquest of Ireland, 297, 435;
assisted by the Firbolgs to subjugate the Iranians (Tuath-de-danaans),
297, 428;
superseded the usages and dress of the latter, 297, 298;
Strabo’s description of the Scythian attire, 53;
why Abaris did not wear this dress, 56;
their policy towards the Boreades, 56;
their contempt for architecture, 383, 384;
O’Morgan (Archbishop of Armagh), the first Scythian who built a stone
house, 384;
St. Abhan could not have done so, 384;
_Goban Saer_ not a Scythian, 386;
could not have built the R. T., 386, 387;
spoke the language of the Tuath-de-danaans, 393;
their religion Druidical, 428;
name of Ireland changed to Scythia (_Scuitte_), 429;
their occupation of the country responsible for the decay of its
grandeur and piety, 520.

SEANNEACBUS, mistake of, respecting the battle of Maytura, 448, 449.

SEPOYS at Dendera, remarkable behaviour of, 143, 144.

SEPULTURE, mystic significance of the form of the R. T. in reference to,
372.

SERAPIS, monogram of Christ found beneath foundation of temple to, 312.

SERPENT-WORSHIP, general symbolism of the serpent, 221, 222;
Purana legend of the snake giant killed by Christnah, 221, 292;
antiquity of this worship and of its symbolism, 222, 223;
symbol of circle and serpent explained, 222, 223, 506;
ubiquity of serpent-worship and of its peculiar symbolism, 222, 223;
the Vindolana stone and its symbolism, 223;
identity of serpent, sun, and phallic worship, 223, 224;
symbol of cross, crescent, and cockatrice explained, 224-226, 506;
Egyptian notions regarding the basilisk, 225;
relation of the latter to the _brazen serpent_ of Scripture, 225, 506;
Eve and the serpent, 285 _et seq._, 505, 506;
Apollo and the Python, 291, 292, 330;
meaning of “Python,” 330 _n._;
Proserpine and the serpent, 303;
snake-symbolism on Irish crosses, 357-367;
only sense in which St. Patrick can be allowed credit for the
extirpation of snakes from Ireland, 361-363;
scriptural allusions to snake-charming, 360;
why snake-sculpture on crosses was revered by the Irish, 361;
description of snake-sculpture on temple at Burwah Saugor, 363;
snake symbolism at Glendalough, 473;
the expression “generation of vipers” explained, 498-505;
Purana legend of Deity assuming form of serpent, 499;
Nagualism and its doctrines, 499 _et seq._;
the Palencian _Culebra_ and the Irish _Gadelglas_, 502;
serpent insignia of the Milesians, 502;
_Gadel_, _Gadelglas_, and the “_Emerald Isle_” explained, 502, 503;
Vishnu, the snake, and the White Island, 326.

SERROWLEE (India), description of certain structures resembling R. T.
at, 176.

SHAMROCK, Irish national reverence for, derived from ancient Persia,
and not introduced by Saint Patrick, 439, 440;
imported by the Tuath-de-danaans, 440;
reason for its veneration, 440;
shamrock devices in Freemasonry, and upon the crowns of Irish and
Persian kings, explained, 440.

SHANNON, a Gangian name, 205, 206;
its divinity _Derg_ (Durga), 206.

SHEEVA, or SEVA, the originator of phallic worship, 100, 101;
his “crescent” represented on the R. T., 103;
his name identical with the Irish _Sabh_, 503;
its Hindu signification, 503 _n._

SHINAR (in Mesopotamia), the site of the tower of Babel, and of the
origin of Sabaism, 64;
settlement of the Noachidæ, 65;
its previous occupation by the _Pish-de-danaans_ before they went
to Egypt, 282.

SIAMESE REGISTERS, their coincidence with the Irish as to the date of
the Tuath-de-danaan invasion, 435.

SIBYLS, why so called, 507.
See PHEELEA and PYTHIA.

SICKLE, as to the symbolism of the golden one used by the Druids, 200.

SLANE, belfry at, not a R. T., 36, 37.

SMERWICK, ancient fire-temple at, 72.

SOLOMON’S TEMPLE, Phallic or Sabian pillars at, 101, 372, 511;
consequent affinity between them and the R. T., 372, 514;
anatomical significance in the construction of, 373;
correspondence of its windows to the apertures of R. T., 514.
See MOLTEN SEA.

SPENSER, cited, 469.

STANIHURST, his theory of the R. T. being “excubiæ,” 14, 15.

STEROPES, Sabaic, import of the term, 195.

STRABO on _Abaris_ and the _Insula Hyperboreorum_, 53-55;
his description of _Pyratheia_, showing that R. T. could not have been
the latter, 72.

SUAD-DHA-DANA (father of Buddha), identical with Tuath-de-danaan, 264.

SULLIVAN and O’SULLIVAN, connected with the Hindu name, _Sulivahana_,
339;
peculiar reverence accorded to families bearing this name in Ireland,
339 _n._

SUN-WORSHIP, Nimrod reputed to have introduced, 63, 64;
_Baal_, _Moloch_, and _Bolati_ as names of the Sun, 65;
its Sabian character, 64-66, 110;
why it originated, 66;
at first merely emblematical, 66;
not conducted originally in temples, 66;
its degeneration into _Materialism_, as fire-worship, 67;
allusions to both in Scripture, 67, 68, 109;
names for the Sun as representative of the _fructifying_ principle, 91;
description of a Mexican fire-temple, 156 _n._;
connection of the R. T. with, 75;
connection of Ophiolatry (serpent-worship) with, 223, 224.
See APOLLO and FIRE-WORSHIP.

TACITUS (Agricola), his comparison of Ireland with England, 119.

TAILTINE GAMES, described, 390-392;
origin of the name, 392;
recorded in sculptures on Irish crosses and obelisks, 392;
corresponding observances in Egypt and Greece, 392, 393;
Buddhist significance of, 392;
analogy of _Tailtine_ with English _Tilt_, 392;
Telltown, 389.

TARA, triennial assemblies at, 23;
pagan rites celebrated at in the time of St. Patrick, 42;
Miss Beaufort on the enactment of, A.D. 79, by Tuathal Teachmar, in
connection with the purpose of the R. T., 88, 89;
Psalter of Tara quoted in refutation of her theory, 89, 90;
a place for legislative deliberations, 389.
See TEAMOR.

TAUT (Egyptian), triple-cross emblem of, 291;
its connection with Freemasonry, 291 _n._

TEAMOR (or TARA), not a palace, but a R. T., 90, 389.

TEAUMPAL-NA-GREINE (temple of the Sun), a name for R. T., 103.

TEN (the number) the Pythagorean triangle of, 267, 268;
its phallic significance, 268;
its connection with the pyramids, 268, 269;
how it came to be represented by a cross, 487-489;
its connection with the Irish “finger-oath,” 489.

TERCEIRA (Spanish historian of 16th cent.) on the decay of learning in
Persia, 181.

THEBIT, or THEBITH (name for the “Ark”), its phallic import, 270, 271.

TIBHOLAS, or TIVOLAS, as a name of Ireland, its Sabaic origin and
import, 507.

TORADH (Irish), curious double meaning of, 102 _n._

TOR-BOILEH (Indian local name), corresponding to Irish _Nemph-Thur_ and
_Budh-Nemph_, 114 _n._

TOTDANA (a religious name of Ireland), explained, 453.

TREE, how each letter of the Irish alphabet denotes some kind of, 229,
418.

TREE of KNOWLEDGE, (scriptural), what it signified, 227-230.
See EVE.

TREFOIL. See SHAMROCK.

TRIANGLE, sacred character and phallic import of its form, 267.
See TEN.

TRIPOD (Delphic), analogous symbolism of shape between it and the
pyramid, 507.

TUATH, corresponds to Buddhist _Suath_, and is resolvable with _Budh_,
264;
device of the cross significant of, 291.

TUATH-DE-DANAANS, origin and meaning of the name, 55, 248, 249, 257;
a sacerdotal caste of the Persian Magh-abadeans, 248, 249;
derivation of _Tuath_ and _Tuatha_, 249, 257;
of _de_ and _Danaans_, 249;
meaning of the whole name, 249;
distinct from the _Pish_- (or _Pith_)- de-danaans, 255-257;
origin of their separation from the latter, 258;
war of the two sects, and victory of the Pish-de-danaans, 259, 285;
consequent expulsion of the Tuath-de-danaans from Persia, 259;
discrepant Hindu account of the struggle, 260, 261;
their settlement in Ireland, and its consequences, 259, 264-266, 393;
their leaders, the sons of Miledh, the Fomorian, 393;
their existence in Persia recognised by Eastern historians, 264;
identical with _Suad-dha-dana_ (Buddhist), 264;
Kaiomurs, or Yavana (Noah), the founder of their dynasty, 272;
their garb described, 297;
contrasted with that of the Celts, 297;
their expulsion from Ireland, and persecution by the Picts in
Scotland, 320;
their battles with the Firbolgs, 386, 448, 449;
were a sea-going people, 414;
whether carried by the Phœnicians to their destination, 414;
date of their arrival in Ireland, 435, 436;
curious correspondence of same with that of expulsion of the
Buddhists, _ib._;
also with the diluvian period, 436;
effected two distinct settlements in Ireland, 436, 443, 448, 449;
their expulsion from India by the Brahmins, 443;
harassed by the Firbolgs, 441, 442;
their embassy to Greece, and contest with the Firbolgs on their
return; consequent battle, 448, 449;
their subsequent decadence both in religion and learning, 449;
merging of their ritual with that of the Druids, 449;
their practical introduction of the leading tenets of Christianity
into Ireland, 493;
Irish crosses, church festivals, and hagiology derived from, 492-494,
513;
prosperity of Ireland in their time, 517;
effacement of their influence by the Scythian conquest, 520;
subsequent accommodation between victors and vanquished, 520;
analogous event in Roman history, 520, 521;
their connection with the round towers, 386-389, 513.
See BUDDHISM, ROUND TOWERS, PERSIA, IRELAND, etc.

TURRISH, name for penitential gyration round the R. T., 517.

UKSI, or HUKSOS (shepherd kings), Manetho’s account of, 142;
called _Pali_ in Vedas, 143;
their invasion of Egypt explains the dislike of the Egyptians to the
Israelites, 143, 151;
evidence of Herodotus, 143;
were probably the founders of the Pyramids, 144, 153;
the shepherd _Philitis_, 144, 146;
their general influence on civilisation and science in Egypt, 144-156;
were antecedent to the Israelites there, 151;
were derived from the same stock as the _Tuath-de-danaans_, 155.

ULSTER (annals of), record the destruction of fifty-seven R. T. by an
earthquake in the 5th cent., 374.
See ANNALS.

UR, meaning of, 68;
Chaldean and Persian cities of that name, the former the original seat
of fire-worship, 68, 69.
See NIMROD and FIRE-WORSHIP.

VALENTIA (Lord) on certain edifices in the Caucasus resembling R. T., 74.

VALLANCEY, his theories as to the R. T., 13, 254, 255;
his confusion of the _Pish-de-danaans_ with the _Tuath-de-danaans_,
253;
also of _Airgiodlamh_ with _Zerdust_ (Zoroaster), 254;
his merits and defects, 19, 254, 255.

VASSANT (Hindu deity), companion of _Camadeva_, meaning of the name, 95,
96.

VEDAS (Sanskrit records), cited, 143.

VENERABLE BEDE, evidence of, as to the existence of fire-temples in
Ireland, not conclusive as to the character of the R. T., 83.

VESTAL-FIRE, of Oriental origin, 87.

VINDOLANA, remarkable Sabaic sculpture on stone found at, 223-226.

VIPERS, their place in Sabaism, 498-505;
import of the scriptural expression, “generation of vipers,” 498, 499.
See SERPENT-WORSHIP.

VIRGINAL CONCEPTION, a doctrine not confined to Christianity, 271, 288,
291-304.

VISHNU (Hindu deity), phallic worship of, identical with that of the
_Yonijas_, 260 _n._

WARE (Sir John), 37;
on the chronology of the R. T., 373.

WATERFORD and WEXFORD, argument from R. T. not being found there, 9.

WELLS, existence of, under the pyramids, an argument against the theory
that they were royal mausoleums, 162.

WHITAKER on the derivation of the name _Britain_, 421, 422;
on the Celtic origin of Irish, Scotch, and Welsh local names, 422;
on a Belgic colonisation of Ireland, 423;
his theories refuted, 423-428.

WHITE ISLAND (_Muc-Inis_), a name of Ireland, 327;
also the name given in the Puranas to the kingdom of Crishna, and the
scene of Vishnu’s incarnation and the abode of the legendary
snake-giant, 325-327;
triple meaning of the Irish name, _Muc Inis_, 327;
Keating’s theory of its origin, 328;
its real meaning, 339.

WOLF, representation on ancient Irish sculptures of the, 466, 467;
meaning of the symbolism, 466-468;
_Lycanthropy_, or wolf-madness, 468;
its prevalence among the ancient Irish, 469;
the Irish as wolf-tamers, 469;
Irish and Indian wolf-dogs, 469;
meaning of _Lyceus_, 469.

WOMAN, the subject of deification in early times, 211, 212;
typified by the Moon, 211;
names under which she was worshipped, 211, 212;
dual import of the Irish term _Astore_, 212, 213;
nature of Eve’s fatal curiosity, 228, 229, 285;
also how it led to Buddhism, 330;
exalted position of woman in ancient Persia, 262, 263;
the scriptural penalty imposed on Eve explains the nature of her
offence, 285;
the promise of virginal offspring to avert its consequences, 285, 286;
immorality resulting from the wish to anticipate this promise, 287;
Buddhist recognition of its fulfilment, 301;
Artemidorus on the pre-Christian worship of the virgin in Ireland, 301;
Greek perversion of the idea of virginal conception, 303;
meaning of the expression, “the son of woman” in the Book of Enoch,
475-477.

YAVANA, its meaning, 259, 273;
another name for _Pish-de-danaans_, 283.

YESSAN (Persian dynasty), 247.

YONIJAS, worshippers of the Yoni, or sacred emblem of female nature,
259, 260, 282 _n._
See also DEVIL’S YONIES.

ZEZD (Persian), nature of fire-temple at, 72.

ZOROASTER (or _Zerdust_), meaning of the name, 52;
period at which he lived, 189;
nature of his teaching, 188;
anticipated by Hushang, 189, 190.

NOTE.--This edition of O’Brien’s work on the Round Towers being, as regards the Author’s text, a _facsimile_ of that published in 1834, the above Index will serve for both.

PRINTED BY
MORRISON AND GIBB LIMITED, EDINBURGH

FOOTNOTES:

[1] “Bryan O’Brien, of the county of Kerry, son of Teige, born 1740, married, 17th November 1797, Ellen, daughter of Justin MacCarthy (by Joanna Conway, his wife); and had: I. Richard, who died unmar. in Jan. 1861; II. Lucien, who also died unmar. in America, in Mar. 1865; III. Turlogh Henry, author of _The Round Towers of Ireland_, who died unmar. 1835” (O’Hart’s _Irish Pedigrees_, p. 168). At pp. 39, 40, _post_, O’Brien alludes to his maternal grandfather as “the last of the MacCarthy Mores.”

[2] At pp. 480, 481, _post_: thus, by the way, refuting a statement (in the _Gentleman’s Magazine_ for 1835) which has been adopted in the _Dictionary of National Biography_, that he was utterly ignorant of Celtic.

[3] It is not to be supposed that a University Professor of Greek would have had any difficulty in explaining to the most ordinary intelligence an idiom so frequently occurring in the New Testament as εἰς τὰ ἴδια, which we meet with, not only in the passage referred to (John i. 11), but at xvi. 32 and xix. 37 of the same Gospel, and at xxi. 6 of the Acts of the Apostles. Nor is it likely that the exegetic difficulty connected with τὰ ἴδια would have occurred to a boy of twelve. Further, Mr. Boyton did not resign his connection with the University until 1833, whereas, in the passage above cited, O’Brien evidently refers to some time about 1820.

[4] It is not even clear that he is identical with the “Henry O’Brien” mentioned in the _Catalogue of the Graduates of the University of Dublin from 1691 to 1868_, now in the British Museum. The entry is as follows:--“Henry O’Brien, B.A. (_ad eundem, Cantab._), 1835.”

[5] This must have been the English Master of the Rolls, who at that time was the Right Hon. Sir John Leach, a judge remarkable for the celerity of his decisions, in marked contrast to those of his contemporary, Lord Eldon, of whom it used to be said that he heard cases without determining them, whereas Sir John Leach determined cases without hearing them.

[6] _Edinburgh Review_, vol. lix. pp. 148, 149.

[7] Mr. Marcus Keane, author of _The Temples and Round Towers of Ancient Ireland_, states in his Preface to that work that he spent three years, during which he had to travel more than five thousand miles, in the performance of a task not much more exacting.

[8] From “TO THE PUBLIC,” a narrative prefixed to his translation of Villanueva’s “_Ibernia Phœnicia_,” which preceded _The Round Towers_.

[9] _Ibid._ p. xxxii. “’Ερεμω” may, however, be an error of the printer, and the fact that it was subsequently corrected lends colour to this view.

[10] It must be admitted that a letter alluded to at p. xix, _post_, written by the Rev. Cæsar Otway, a member of the Council, lends some colour to this assertion.

[11] P. xxiii of the introduction to _Phœnician Ireland_, inscribed “To the Public.”

[12] This letter will be found at p. lxxi, _post_.

[13] Vol. 59 of the _Edinburgh Review_ for 1834.

[14] _Gentleman’s Magazine_ for March 1834, p. 288; for Oct, 1834, p. 365 f.; and for Nov. 1835, p. 553. At pp. 340 f. of the volume for 1833, pt. ii., may be found a distinctly unfavourable review of O’Brien’s translation of _Ibernia Phœnicia_.

[15] _Vide_ note 2, p. vii, _ante_.

[16] It may be remarked here that an Act for the protection of ancient monuments is much needed in Ireland.

[17] At p. 4 of his work on the Round Towers (2nd ed.).

[18] Amusing instances of this autocratic method pervade Dr. Petrie’s work on the Round Towers. Thus, at p. 109, he disposes of the Phallic Theory, which had exercised so many noble minds, with the single remark: “It is, happily, so absurd, and at the same time so utterly unsupported by authority or evidence worthy of refutation, that I gladly pass it by without further notice, even though it has found a zealous supporter in the person of Sir “William Betham” (who, it may be observed, was not only a member of the Academy, but one of the leading antiquarians of his day, besides being Ulster-King-at Arms, etc. etc.) “since these pages were originally written ... and _who was consequently not unacquainted with their contents_.” (The italics are ours.) No further reference to this much-debated theory occurs in his book; but there are many denunciations of Sir W. Betham for presuming to differ from him. His way of dealing with the evidences and arguments in support of the pagan origin of the Round Towers adduced by O’Brien and Sir W. Betham is simply this: “I have not thought them deserving of notice” (p. 359).

[19] At pp. 1, 2 of _The Towers and Temples of Ancient Ireland_, by Marcus Keane, M.R.I.A. (Dublin: Hodges, Smith & Co.); a very beautiful and interesting volume. A still more formidable champion of the revolt against Dr. Petrie’s sway has since appeared, the Rev. Canon Bourke, M.R.I.A., author of _Pre-Christian Ireland_ (Brown & Nolan, Dublin, 1887).

[20] _The Migration of Symbols_: Archibald Constable & Co., Westminster, 1894.

[21] Introduction, pp. ix-xv.

[22] Preface, 3.

[23] P. 12.

[24] At p. 4 of his work on the Round Towers.

[25] General Vallancey’s literary remains are preserved in seven octavo volumes, entitled _Collectanea de Rebus Hibernicis_, of which a complete set is rather difficult to obtain. The portions specifically relating to the round towers will be found in vols. ii., iii., and vii. As regards the other source of plagiarism to which Moore refers in his article above quoted,--“the remarkable work called _Nimrod_,”--it has been already shown, without any attempt at contradiction, that the leading idea of _Nimrod_ was that the round towers were _fire-altars_, and that (to quote the writer’s words) “O’Brien’s theory is not to be found in any page of it.”

[26] According to “Father Prout” (“Rogueries of Tom Moore”), it was probably suggested to him by the study of Lucian. See p. 90 of Mr. Kent’s edition of “The Works of Father Prout.”

[27] Alluded to in the _Charmides_ of Plato.

[28] This statement is subject to a qualification. Certain structures--one at Peel in the Isle of Man, and another at Hythe in Kent--are supposed, on grounds of which the validity is more or less questioned, to be round towers.

[29] _Vide_ p. 514. General Vallancey had made a similar remark: “Nor are they always annexed to churches. There are many in the fields, where no traces of the foundations of any other buildings can be discovered around them” (_Collect._ iii. 492, cited at p. 17 of Dr. Petrie’s work). Dr. Lanigan avowed the same; but Dr. Petrie declares “they are, without a single exception, found near old churches, or where churches are known to have existed”; though, as Mr. Keane points out, he assumes buildings to be “churches” which have no claim to that title.

[30] _Fraser’s Magazine_, November 1, 1833.

[31] The _characteristic architectural peculiarities_ belonging to each of the towers was the omission required to be supplied, and for this alone three months were extended. During that time I wrote my entire Essay, and of course did not omit this requisite. But as these could give no interest to the general reader, I have omitted them in the present enlarged form. If called for, however, I shall cheerfully supply them, as an Appendix to another work which may soon appear.

[32] _Dublin Penny Journal_, July 7, 1832.

[33] “Kilmallock has been a place of some distinction from a very remote period, and, like most of our ancient towns, is of ecclesiastical origin, a _monastery_ having been founded here by St. Maloch in the sixth century, _of which the original Round Tower_ still remains.”--_Dublin Penny Journal_, vol. i. p. 65.

“These (the Ruins of Swords) consist of a fine and lofty Round Tower, coeval with the foundation of the original monastery.”--_Ibid._ vol. i. p. 177.

[34] If this appear over-sanguine, I trust it will be attributed to its only cause--a strong sense of injustice expressed in the moment of warmth, and without ever expecting that this expression should see the light.

[35] That this was not gratuitous I pledge myself to prove, even from circumstances that have already transpired.

[36] It is true Mr. Higgins has told me this, and I listened with polite silence to what I had read “in print” a thousand times before. But our chronicles call the name Macha, and I abide by them. Enough, however, has occurred between the date of this letter and the present to quiet the most ardent disposition as to the pursuit of earthly éclat. Its author is no more! He has reached that “bourne whence no traveller returns.” And the warning, I confess, is to myself not a little pointed, from the unremitting perseverance with which this inquiry has been prosecuted and the vexatious opposition with which its truths have been met.

[37] I wish the reader to keep this in mind; its effects will be manifested by and by.

[38] φωνη εν τη ερημω.

[39] See Letter No. 3.

[40] _Dublin Penny Journal_, August 3, 1833.

[41] Gibbon’s Memoirs.

[42] The Budhist temples.

[43] The Cromleachs.

[44] The Mithratic Caves.

[45] Job i.

[46] I say _accidentally_, because he foundered as well upon the _actual colony_ who erected those temples, as upon the _nature_ of the _rites_ for which they were erected.

[47] Colonel Montmorency.

[48] Pliny, lib. lxvi. cap. 12.

[49] This incomparably beautiful object, constructed of white marble, in the days of Demosthenes, in the second year of the one hundred and eleventh Olympiad, 335 years before Christ, and in the year 418 of Rome, was erected in honour of some young men of the tribe of Archamantide, victors at the public games, and dedicated, it is supposed, to Hercules.

[50] The first name ever given to this body was _Saer_, which has three significations--firstly, _free_; secondly, _mason_; and thirdly, _Son of God_. In no language could those several imports be united but in the original one, viz. the Irish. The Hebrews express only one branch of it by _aliben_; while the English join together the other two.

[51] Sallust, _Cat. Con._

[52] Lib. xi. epist. 11.

[53] 2 Kings xvii. 29, 30.

[54] Byron.

[55] Vol. iii. p. 78, note.

[56] The tolling of a bell was supposed to have had miraculous effects--to keep the spirits of darkness from assaulting believers--to dispel thunder, and prevent the devil from molesting either the church or congregation; and hence they were always rung, in time of storm or other attack, to paralyse the fiend, whether the elements or mortal man, by the hallowed intonation. Each was dedicated to a particular saint,--duly baptized and consecrated; and the inscriptions which still remain on the old ones that have come down to us proclaim the virtue of their capabilities. The following distich will be found to sum them up, viz.:--

“Laudo Deum verum, plebem voco, congrego clerum,
Defunctos plero, _pestem fugo_, festa decoro.”

And the very syllables of this which follows form a sort of _tuneful_ galloping, viz.:--

“Sabbata pango, funera plango, solemnia clango.”

[57] νπερ τον Ωκεανον παρελθειν επὶ τας καλουμενας Βρετανικας νησους. EUSEB. in _Præp. Ev._ 1. 3.

Egyptum et Libyam sortitus est alius Apostolorum, extremas vero oceani regiones, et _Insulas Britannicas_ alius obtinuit. NICEPHOR. l. 2, c. 40.

[58] _Religious Rites and Ceremonies_, published under his name.

[59] Milton.

[60] This latter to be explained hereafter.

[61] The ruins, to the height of ten feet, still remain.

[62] Goldsmith.

[63] _Top. Dist._ ii. c. 9, p. 720.

[64] In the reign of Txiacha Labhruine, A.M. 3177; B.C. 827.

[65] This mark (7), in the Irish language, is an abbreviation for _agus_, i.e. _and_.

[66] The _Annals of Inisfallen_, also, p. 148, call them by the same name of _Fiadh-Nemeadh_.

[67] _Rer. Hib. Scrip. Vet._ iii. p. 527.

[68] _Fidh-Nemeadh_ certainly admits of this interpretation, but in a very different sense from what its author had supposed.

[69] A German writer, contemporary with the Emperor Charles the Great, says of another Irishman named Clement, at a much later period, “That through his instructions the French might vie with the Romans and the Athenians. John Erigena, whose surname denoted his country (Eri or Erina being the proper name of Ireland), became soon (in the ninth century) after famous for his learning and good parts, both in England and France. Thus did most of the lights which, in those times of thick darkness, cast their beams over Europe, proceed out of Ireland. The loss of the manuscripts is much bewailed by the Irish who treat of the history and antiquities of their country, and which may well be deemed a misfortune, not only to them, but to the whole learned world.”

[70] Isidore of Seville, in the seventh century, says: “Scotia eadem et Hibernia,” that is, Scotia and Ireland are one and the same--an identity, however, of _locality_, not of _signification_. And Orosius of Tarracona, still earlier in the fifth century, avers that, “In his own time, Ireland was inhabited by the nations of the Scoti.” And were further evidence required as to the point, it would be found in the fact of one of our Christian luminaries, whose name was Shane, _i.e._ John, being called by the Latin historians indifferently by the epithets of Johannes Scotus and Johannes Erigena--the former signifying John the Irishman and the latter, John the Scotchman.

[71] The Scots first drove them from Ireland to what is now called Scotland, and the Picts afterwards chased them from the lowlands to the highland fastnesses.

[72] Henricus Antisiodrensis, writing to Charles the Bald, says: “Why need I mention all Ireland, with her crowd of philosophers?” “The philosophy and logic,” says Mosheim, a German historian, “that were taught in the European schools in the ninth century, scarcely deserved such honourable titles, and were little better than an empty jargon. There were, however, to be found in various places, _particularly among the Irish_, men of acute parts and extensive knowledge, who were perfectly well entitled to the appellation of philosophers.”

[73] _Antiq._ p. 108.

[74] Milton.

[75] I will show, however, that it was much older.

[76] _De Orig. et Progress. Idolat._ ii. 61.

[77] Gen. xi. 4.

[78] Gen. vi. 5.

[79] _On the top was an observatory, by the benefit of which_ it was that the _Babylonians advanced their skill in astronomy so early_; when Alexander took Babylon, Callisthenes the philosopher, who accompanied him there, found they had _observations_ for 1903 years backward from that time, which carries up the account as high as the hundred and fifteenth year after the flood, _i.e._ within fifteen years after the tower of Babel was built.

[80] I stop not to inquire whether or not this may have been the same with that which stood in the midst of the temple of Belus, afterwards built around it by Nebuchadnezzar. The intent I conceive similar in all, whether the scriptural _Tower_, Birs Nimrod, or Mujellibah; and the rather, as Captain Mignan tells us of the last, that on its summit there are still considerable traces of erect building, and that at the western end is a _circular_ mass of solid brick-work _sloping towards the top_, and rising from a confused heap of rubbish; while Niebuhr states that Birs Nimrod is also surmounted by a turret. My object is to show that the same _emblematic design_ mingled in all those ancient edifices, though not identical in its details.

[81] Hos. ii. 16.

[82] St. Stephen, the first martyr who suffered death for Christ, said before the Jewish Sanhedrim, “God dwelleth not in temples made with hands” (Acts vii. 48).

[83] _Asiatic Researches._

[84] It is most unaccountable how Hanway, after seeing this evidence of an _actual_ fire-temple, should, notwithstanding, commit the egregious blunder of calling the Round Towers--which differed from it as much as a _maypole_ does from a rabbit-hole--fire-temples also. Yet has he been most religiously followed by Vallancey, Beauford, Dalton, etc., who could not open their eyes to the mistake.

[85] Pottinger’s _Belochistan_.

[86] Num. xxii. 41.

[87] Milton.

[88] _Top. Dist._ ii. c. 34.

[89] Had Bede even _asserted_ that the Round Towers were fire receptacles, it would not obtain my assent, as they were as great an enigma in that venerable writer’s day as they have been ever since, until now that their _secret_ is about to be unveiled.

[90] The derivation of this word not being generally known, I may be allowed to subjoin it. It is the Irish for _dove_, as _columba_ is the Latin, and was assigned to the above place in honour of St. Columbe, who was surnamed Kille, from the many churches which he had founded.

[91] _Trans. Roy. Ir. Acad._ vol. xv.

[92] This adjective is not here applied to our western _Irin_, _i.e._ Ireland, but to the eastern Iran, _i.e._ Persia.

[93] “Virginesque Vestæ legit, Albâ oriundum sacerdotium, et genti conditoris haud alienum” (Livy, lib. i. cap. xx.).

[94] Horace.

[95] _Asiatic Researches_, Dissert. Up. Egypt and Nile.

[96] Literally, “the goddess of the lotos.”

[97] Craufurd’s _Sketches_.

[98] Milton.

[99] Maya also signifies _illusion_, of which as an operation of the Deity, the following remark, extracted elsewhere from Sir William, may not be unseasonable:--“The inextricable difficulties,” says he, “attending the _vulgar notion of material substances_, concerning which ‘we know this only, that we know nothing,’ induced many of the wisest among the ancients, and some of the most enlightened among the moderns, to believe that the whole creation was rather an _energy_ than a work, by which the Infinite Being who is present at all times and in all places, exhibits to the minds of his creatures a set of perceptions, like a wonderful picture or piece of music, always varied, yet always uniform; so that all bodies and their qualities exist, indeed, to every wise and useful purpose, but exist only as far as they are _perceived_--a theory no less pious than sublime, and as different _from_ any principle of atheism, as the brightest sunshine differs from the blackest midnight.”

[100] Nature.

[101] The Hindoos never bathe nor perform their ablutions whilst the sun is below the horizon.

[102] Poojah is properly worship.

[103] Krishen of Matra may be called the Apollo of the Hindoos.

[104] Vassant, the spring.

[105] Kama, the god of love.

[106] Translated from the Persic, and read before the Oriental Society in India.

[107] The reason why the Egyptian Pyramids, though _comprehending_ the same idea, did not _exhibit_ this form, will be assigned hereafter.

[108] In his treatise, _De Deâ Syriâ_.

[109]

“Astarte, queen of heaven, with crescent horns,
To whose bright image nightly by the moon,
Sidonian virgins paid their vows and songs.”--MILTON.

[110] “Les Indiens ont le Lingam qui ajoute encore quelque chose à l’infamie du Phallus des Egyptiens et des Grecs: ils adorent le faux dieu Isoir sous cette figure monstreuse, et qu’ils exposent en procession insultant d’une manière horrible à la pudeur et à la crédulité de la populace” (_La Croze_, p. 431).

[111] We can now see how it happened that the Irish word _Toradh_, _i.e._ “to go through the tower ceremony,” should signify also “to be pregnant”; and we can equally unravel the _mythos_ of that elegant little tale which Sir John Malcolm tells us from Ferdosi, in his _History of Persia_. “It is related,” says he, “that Gal, when taking the amusement of the chase, came to the foot of a _tower_, on one of the turrets of which he saw a young _damsel_ of the most exquisite beauty. _They mutually gazed and loved_, but there appeared no mode of ascending the battlement. After much embarrassment, an _expedient_ occurred to the fair maiden. She loosened her dark and beautiful _tresses_, which fell in ringlets to the _bottom_ of the _tower_, and enabled the _enamoured_ prince to _ascend_. The lady proved to be Noudabah, the daughter of Merab, king of Cabul, a prince of the race of Zohauk.”

[112] Chap. iv. p. 48.

[113] Syncellus accordingly spells Budh, even in the singular number, with an _F_; and Josephus, from the Scriptures, additionally commutes the final _d_ into _t_. We shall see more inflections anon.

“φουδ εξ ου τρωρλοδιται.”--Syncellus, p. 47.

“Fut was the founder of the nations in Libya (Africa), and the people were from him called Futi” (Josephus, _Ant._ lib. i. c. 7).

[114] _Vide_ Plutarch, _de Isi et Osiri_.

[115] Eas, in Irish, also means the moon.

[116] Literally the Son of the Sun, and should properly be written O’Siris, like any of our Irish names, such as O’Brien--and meaning _sprung from_.

[117] These are the _indexes_ for which Mr. O’Connor could find no other use than that of dials!

[118] “Les mystères de l’antiquité nous sont demeurés presqu’interdicts; les vestiges de ses monuments manquent le plus souvent de sens pour nous, parceque, de siècle en siècle, les savants ont voulu leur attribuer un sens” (DE SACY).

[119] To this declaration of Mr. Heeren, as I cannot _now_ bestow upon it a separate inquiry, I must be allowed briefly to intimate that if such be all that he “knows with certainty” on the topic, he had better not know it at all, for, with the exception of that part which avows the general _ignorance_ concerning its rise and progress, as well as its expulsion by the Brahmins from the East, _all the rest is inaccurate_. In the first place it does not “_flourish_” at present in Ceylon. It has sunk and degenerated there into an unmeaning tissue of hideous demonology, _if we may judge by a reference to a large work published here some time ago_, by Mr. Upham, which is as opposite from real _Budhism_ as truth is from falsehood. In the second place its tenets were _not_ “in direct opposition to those of the Brahmins,” any more than those of the Catholics are from the tenets of the Protestants; yet have the latter contrived to oust the Catholics, their predecessors, as the Brahmins did the still more antecedent Budhists. And this will be sufficient to neutralise that insinuation which would imply that Budha was an _innovator_ and a _sectarian_, until I show by and by that the reverse was the fact.

[120] The Jews themselves, so early as the time of Moses, adopted the practice as an act of _thanksgiving_.

“And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her, with timbrels, and with dances.

“And Miriam answered them, Sing ye to the LORD, for He hath triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider hath He thrown into the sea” (Exod. xv. 20, 21).

[121] The origin of this word shall be explained hereafter.

[122] “Verily, verily, I say unto you, except a _corn_ of _wheat_ fall into the ground and _die_, it abideth alone; but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit” (John xii. 24).

[123] We are told--says Sir John Malcolm, in a Persian work of celebrity, the _Attash Kuddah_--that a person dreamt he saw Ferdosi composing, and an angel was guiding his pen: he looked near, and discovered that he had just written the above couplet, in which he so emphatically pleads for humanity to the smallest insect of the creation.

[124] _Another Almoner_ was an epithet they assigned to God, which even the Brahmins retained after they had seceded from them, as may be seen in Wilkins’ translation of a Sanscrit inscription on a pillar near _Buddal_, published in the first volume of the _Asiatic Researches_. This inscription, I must observe, as it escaped that learned Orientalist to perceive it, as it equally did the acumen of the president, his annotator, is, with the column on which it appears, nothing else than a record of the triumphs obtained by a hero of the Brahminical party in exterminating the Budhists. The frequent allusion to the “lustful elephants,”--such as “whose piles of rocks reek with the juice exuding from the heads of intoxicated elephants,”--and “Although the prospect hidden by the dust arising from the multitude of marching force was rendered clear from the earth being watered by constant and abundant streams flowing from the heads of lustful elephants of various breeds,”--and still more that beautiful and pathetic sentiment which occurs in the original of the preceding paper, omitted by Mr. Wilkins, but supplied by the president, viz. “by whom having conquered the earth as far as the _ocean_, it was left as being unprofitably seized--so he declared; and his _elephants weeping_ saw again _in the forests their kindred whose eyes were full of tears_,”--make this a demonstration: yet would the beauty of the image be lost to some of my readers, were I not to explain that the Budhists treated with a sort of deified reverence the tribe of _elephants_, which now bewailed their extermination as above described.

[125] From Bavana was named the village of Banaven, in Scotland, whither some of the Tuath-de-danaans had repaired after their retreat from Ireland--a very appropriate commemoration of their recent subversion; and a particular locality within its district, where St. Patrick was born, was called _Nemph-Thur_, that is, the _holy tower_, corresponding to _Budh-Nemph_, _i.e._ the _holy Lingam_, from the circumstance of there having been erected on it one of those temples which time has since effaced. _Tor-Boileh_ upon the Indus, which means the _Tower of Baal_, is in exact consonance with _Nemph-Thur_ and with _Budh-Nemph_; and there can be no question but that _there_ also stood one of those edifices, as the ruins even of a city are perceptible in the neighbourhood. Mr. Wilford, however, would translate this last name, Tor-Boileh, by _Black Beilam_: and, to keep this _colour_ in countenance, he invents a new name for a place called Peleiam, “which,” he says, “_appears_ to have been transposed from Ac Beilam, or the _White Beilam_, sands or shores and now called ‘Hazren.’” I am not surprised at the _discredit_ brought upon etymology.

[126] And this, too, after he had admitted that “the name is certainly of the pure Iberno-Celtic dialect, and must have had some meaning founded in the nature of things in its original and radical formation.”

[127] All our ancient swords were made of brass.

[128] Gibbon, vol. ii. p. 527, 4to, 1781.

[129] _Histoire d’Irelande_, vol. i. cap. 7.

[130] Avienus lived in the fourth century.

[131] “Melius (Hiberniæ quam Britanniæ) aditus--portusque per commercia et negociatores cogniti” (Tacit. _vit. Agricol._ 499).

[132] “Plus in metum quan in spem.”

[133] “ὥσπερ και των Βρεττανων τους οικοντας την ονομαζομενην Ιριν.” _Diod Sic._ lib. v.

[134] In proof of this, I aver that I could go through the whole range of their language, and prove that in its fabrication, so punctilious was their regard to _euphony_, they scrupled not to _cancel_ or otherwise _obnebulate_ the _essential_ and _significant_ letters of the primitive words; so that, in a few generations, their descendants were unable to trace the true _roots_ of their compounds. Hence that lamentable imperfection which pervades all our lexicons and dictionaries, and which can never be rectified but by the revisal of the whole system, and that by a _thorough adept_ in the language of the Irish.

[135] I say strangled, because _Irin_ is a compound word embracing within its compass _two distinct parts_, of which Iris could give but the spirit of one.

[136] “Iren perrexit ut et aliorum Doctorum sententias in philosophicis atque divinis litteris investigator curiosus exquireret” (_Vita Gildæ_, cap. 6).

[137] Lib. x. Anno 1098.

[138] Modern writers upon Persia, who would _refine_ upon the matter, have perverted this word to _Pehlivi_; but look you into the early numbers of the _Asiatic Researches_, and there you will find it spelled as above.

[139] Besides, to speak _accurately_, this is not a _western_ country at all, or only so relatively to Britain, Gaul, and that particular line.

[140] _Collect. de Reb. Hib._ vol. iv.

[141] _Antiq. Research. Pers._ vol. i. p. 137.

[142] If I have taken a wrong view of the professor’s phraseology, I shall feel most happy to be set right; but I submit to the critic whether I am not justified in understanding him as I do.

[143] To be met with at a place called Tauk-e-Bostan. Silvestre de Sacy, a member of the Institute at Paris, had made the following translation of it, which is divided into two parts.

The first:--“This figure is that of a worshipper of Hormuzd, or God; the excellent Shahpoor; king of kings; of _Iran_ and _An-Iran_; a celestial germ of a heavenly race; the son of the adorer of God; the excellent Hormuzd; a king of kings; of _Iran_ and _An-Iran_; a celestial germ of a heavenly race; grandson of the excellent Narses; king of kings.”

The second:--“This figure is that of a worshipper of Hormuzd, or God; the excellent Varaham; king of kings; king of _Iran_ and _An-Iran_; a celestial germ of a heavenly race; son of the adorer of God; the excellent Shapoor; king of kings; of _Iran_ and _An-Iran_; a celestial germ of a heavenly race; grandson of the excellent Hormuzd; king of kings.”

[144] This _An_, the original name for _country_, was modified afterwards, according to clime and dialect, into _tan_, as in Aqui-_tan_-ia, Brit-_tan_-ia, Mauri-_tan_-ia, etc.; and into _stan_, as in Curdi-_stan_, Fardi-_stan_, Hindu-_stan_, etc.

[145] From this was formed the English word _tower_, the very idea remaining unchanged. As was also the English word _bud_, meaning the _first shoot of a plant_, a _germ_, from the Irish _budh_, _i.e._ the _organ of male energy_.

[146] The present bleak and sterile aspect of this region militates nothing against this view, when we consider the thousand alterations which it has undergone, under the thousand different tribes that have consecutively possessed it.

[147] From _Ir_ or _Eer_, sacred, and _an_, a _land_.

[148] From _Ir_ or _Eer_, sacred, and _in_, an _island_.

[149] Iran or Irin, _i.e._ Eeran or Eerin.

[150] Each of these three preceding words means _religion_ or _revelation_. And from them _Era_, denoting a _period of_ time,--which with the ancients was a _sacred_ reckoning,--has been so denominated; as well as _Eric_, which, in law phraseology, indicates a certain penalty attachable to certain crimes, and equivalent to _Deodand_, or a _religious restitution_--all Irish.

[151] I mean the “_Græci vetustissimi_,” not the “_Græculi esurientes_.”

[152] Namely, _Ivernia_:--_u_, _v_, and _b_ are commutable.

[153] Should you hesitate as to this mode of accounting for the letter _b_, I can show you that the Greeks spelled _Albion_ indifferently with or without a _b_; as they indifferently used _b_ or _v_ in one of the above names for Ireland; for instance--

Ἄι Βρετανιδες ειϛι δυο νησοι, Ουερνία και Αλουιον, ητοι Βερνια καὶ Αλβιων Eustath. _ad Dion. Perieg._

[154] It is only the _date_, however, that I will share with any one. The derivation of the word and its _true exposition_ are exclusively my own.

[155] “Quod nomen ob beati solum ingenium, in quo _nullum animal venenosum vitale_, facile assentior attributum” (_Ogyg._ pt. i. c. 21). So gratifying, however, has this been to the obsequious wisdom of subsequent _historians_ (?), as to be echoed from one to the other with the most commendable fidelity. “_O imitatores, servum pecus!_”

[156] Pronounced Fiodhvadh--copied _literally_ from the old manuscripts.

[157] This corresponds to _Ir-an_, the Sacred _Land_.

[158] This answers to _Ir-in_, the Sacred _Island_.

[159] The reader will see that, in quoting Dr. Keating, I do so from no respect for his discrimination or sagacity. Whenever he has attempted to exert either, in the way of comment or _deduction_, he has _invariably_ erred: fortunately he has offered none in this instance. Yet is his book a most valuable compilation; and _I_ now cull out of it _those three names_, as one would a casket of jewels from a lumber-room.

[160] This _Farragh_, otherwise _Phearragh_, is the _Peor_ of the Scriptures, and the _Priapus_ of the Greeks.

[161] “Priapus, si _physice_ consideretur idem est ac _sol_; ejusque lux primogenia unde _vis omnis seminatrix_” (_Diod. Sic._ lib. i.). See also Num. xxv. 4, where you will see that “Peor” _remotely_ meant the sun.

[162] I shall not trouble myself in reciting the absurd _attempts_ that have been heretofore made to expound this word: it is enough to say that _they were all wrong_.

[163] The _motto_, also, of this family, viz., _Lamh laider a-Boo_, _i.e._ “The strong arm from Boo,” now changed to _Vigueur du dessus_, is in keeping with the same idea.

[164] This is the _mere utterance_ of an historical transaction without reference to _sect_, _creed_, _party_, or _politics_. No feelings of bitterness mingle therein. The author disclaims all such, as much as he would depreciate them in others.

[165] In the library of Trinity College, Dublin, are several such, collected in the beginning of last century, by Lhuyd, author of the _Archæologia_, and restored by Sir John Seabright, at the instigation of Edmund Burke. I am credibly informed also, that there have been lately discovered in the Library at Copenhagen certain documents relating to our antiquities, taken away by the Danes after their memorable defeat at Clontarf, by King Brian, A.D. 1014. Lombard has already asserted the same; and that the King of Denmark entreated Queen Elizabeth to send him some Irishman, who could transcribe them; that Donatus O’Daly, a learned antiquarian, was selected for the purpose, but that his appointment was afterwards countermanded, for political reasons.

There are, besides, in mostly all the public libraries of Europe--without adverting to those which are detained in the Tower of London--divers Irish manuscripts, presented by the various emigrants, who from time to time have been obliged to fly their country, to seek among strangers that shelter which they were denied at home; taking with them, as religious heirlooms, those hereditary relics of their pedigree and race.

One of the most beautiful and pathetic pieces of Irish poetry remaining, written by Macleog, private secretary to Brian, after the demise of that monarch, and beginning with this expression of his sorrow: “Oh! Cencoradh (the name of his patron’s favourite palace), where is Brian?” was picked up in the Netherlands, in 1650, by Fergar O’Gara, an Augustinian friar, who fled from Ireland in the iron days of Cromwell.

[166] I rejoice to state, that the present administration, under the benign direction of our patriot King, have resolved, so far as in them lies, to atone for former depredators. There is now a vigorous revisal of those documents going on, with a view, as I understand, to their immediate publication.

[167] The antiquarian luminaries of the _Royal Irish Academy_ would fain make out that this was a _Christian warrior_. Their _high priest_ has lately proclaimed the fact, in their “collective wisdom.” It is astonishing how fond they have _suddenly_ become for the memory of the monks; they would now father everything like culture in the country upon them. It used not to have been so!

[168] This image was found under the root of a tree dug up in Roscommon. It is about the size of the drawing; is made of brass, once gilt; the gilding, however, now almost worn off; and may be seen in the Museum of Trinity College, Dublin.

[169] _Major Archer’s Travels in Upper India_, vol. i. pp. 383, 384. Lond. 1833.

[170] So the “collective wisdom,” in the true spirit of Christian restitution and penitential contrition, have lately pronounced him! It is delightful to see this solicitous zeal with which, when it suits a private purpose, they cherish the memory of the monks, being _no longer_ in the way of their _secular_ perquisites: but if the poor monks could speak, or send a voice from the tomb, it would be to say that they did not choose to be encumbered with such meretricious flattery; and that, having laid no claim to those _relics_, or to the _towers_ which they decorated, during their _lifetime_, they now in _death_ must repudiate the ascription. “Timeo Danaas et dona ferentes,” would be their answer.

[171] _Asiatic Researches_, vol. vi.; where it will be observed that the Doctor was not writing for me. He did not even _suspect_ the existence of this figure. It is, like the preceding one, of bronze.

[172] The Egyptian sovereign assumed this _title_, as the highest that _language_ and _imagination_ could bestow. It signifies literally the _act of copulation_, of which it would represent him as _presiding genius_--the source whence all pleasure and happiness can flow--and is but faintly re-echoed in the Macedo-Syriac regal epithet of Ευεργετης, “Benefactor,” or even that by which we designate our king as the _fountain_ of _goodness_. There being no such letter as _ph_ in the ancient alphabets, all those words, viz. _Pheor_, _Pharaoh_, and _Pharagh_, should properly be spelled _Feor_, _Faraoh_, and _Faragh_.

[173] Gen. xlvi. 34.

[174] “On the fifteenth day of the first month every year. Every person is obliged, on the evening of that day, to set out a lantern before his door, and these are of various sizes and prices, according to the different circumstances of those to whom they belong. During this festival, they have all sorts of entertainments, such as plays, balls, assemblies, music, dancing, and the lanterns are filled with a vast number of wax candles, and surrounded with bonfires.”

[175] Barker.--The same is mentioned by Captain Burr, in reference to the Indian followers who had attended him to the temple of Isis.

[176] Mr. Greaves’s diagonal, in proportion to his base of 694 feet, is 991 feet nearly; the half of which is 495½ feet, for the height of the Pyramid; for as the radius is to the tangent of 45°, so is half the diameter to half the diagonal, or 7 to 10, or 706 to 1000. Say, 7 : 10 :: 694 : 991/2 = 495½.--_Dissertation upon the Pyramids._

[177] Schindl.

[178] Gen. xlvii.

[179] _Hist. Christ. des Indes_, p. 429.

[180] Lib. ii. p. 4.

[181] πυρ, generally rendered _fire_, is not so, however, in the true import of the word, but the _Sun_; fire is only a secondary sense of it.

[182] Barker.

[183] _Ibid._

[184] Gen. xlvi. 34.

[185] Ex. vii. 11, etc., and 2 Tim. iii. 8.