sea; so was the flight of Moses-One of the symbols in the theology of Bacchus was a serpent; Moses set up the brazen serpent in the wilderness—Bacchus had great numbers of women in his army; so had Moses in his journey to Caкаап- -Bacchus is said to have dried up the rivers Orontes and Hydaspes, by striking them with his Thyrsus, and passed over them; Moses divided the Red sea, and the river Jordan, with his rod, and passed through them-That an ivy stick thrown on the ground, by Bacchus, crept like a dragon; so by the command of Moses, the rod was cast down and became a serpent-Bacchus was called DioNysus; which is the inscription on the altar-A dog was given to Bacchus, as a constant companion; so Moses had his Caleb, which in Hebrew means 'a dog'-That the enemies of Bacchus were covered with darkness; while those who were with him enjoyed perfect day-the same is recorded of Moses-That Bacchus drew water out of a rock, by striking it with his Thyrsus; and that wherever he went, the land flowed with milk and honey; Moses struck the rock, and the waters gushed out, and the land of Canaan was said to flow with milk and honeyOrpheus calls Bacchus, the legislator, and attributes to him two tables of laws-Bacchus is said by the Greeks, in the mythology, to have had Silenus for his adviser. This word is the same as the word Shilan, which

6

means to overspread a large space of ground by a vast population, and this is the same with Shilo, the Messiah,' the angel sent to conduct the Hebrews to Canaan : " and unto him shall the gathering of the people be." Gen. xlix. 10. Hence the Greeks say, that Silenus was the great instructer of Bacchus-In the mythology, Silenus is employed in treading out the grapes; which is the same as is said of Shilo. Gen. xlix. 11. "and his clothes in the blood of grapes."-They make

Silenus to drink wine, and to feed on milk; the same is recorded of Shilo. His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk.”

Pan, the god of shepherds, was one of the companions of Bacchus, but this was taken from the Messiah, who is called the shepherd of Israel. Silenus not only

agrees with Messiah in name, but also as to his genealogy. Diodorus Siculus says, "the first that ruled at Nisi, was Silenus, whose genealogy is unknown by all, by reason of his antiquity." Thus the place where Silenus is said to have reigned, was Sini, or Nisi, where he condescended to deliver the tables of the law, before the sacred altar, Nisi, in the temple of Jehovah. We cannot suppose, as some have, that this was all done on a barren, rugged mountain, in the open air: the city of Nisi, was referred to by Homer, which was sacred to Bacchus, or Moses; consequently at this very distant period, near 1200 years before the dispersion of the Jews, we have undeniable proof, that in the very neighbourhood of mount Sini, was the city Nisi, which was of sufficient consequence to be noticed by Homer.

It must appear evident, that when Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh, it was to this mountain, or city, in Arabia, where he resided forty years, and where he acquired a knowledge of all the learning of the Arabians, as he had, by dwelling to the fortieth year of his life, in his native country, gained a knowledge of all the learning of the Egyptians. Now as the Arabians were, at that period, a very refined and scientific nation, it is reasonable to conclude, that Moses, who was the kinsman of Job, the then reigning king, would be received at the Idumean court, consistently with his rank, and relation

*L. 3.

"

ship, as also in their colleges, that he might acquire that learning and information, so necessary for the important situation he was intended to fill.

In short, the whole of the mythology is taken from the scripture, as may also be seen in the fable of Cupid and Psyche. Psyche, the daughter of a king, and the most beautiful female in the world, attracts the attention of a deity, whom the mythologists call Cupid. She is carried by a zephyr to a most magnificent palace, in the midst of a beautiful garden, where she has been informed her intended husband would visit her in the evening, when the nuptials were to be celebrated. She retired, and was informed by invisible agents, that he is only to come in the darkness of the night. That her two sisters visiting her, she told them of her good fortune, viz. that she was married to a deity, who visited her every night, but that she had never seen him.

Her sisters being envious at her good fortune, informed her, that as the oracle had said she was not to be married to any one of mortal descent, but to a being fierce, implacable and malignant as a viper, a monster terrible on earth, and formidable to the gods themselves, that under the appearance of a young man in the bloom of life, she was actually married to a monstrous serpent. It is said, that they induced her to break the agreement made between her and her husband, which was, that she was never to see him till she was translated to the gods and goddesses. They advised her to rise in the night when he was asleep, to procure a light, and to destroy him, that she might save herself, as in the end he would devour her. Thus, having taken their advice, she arose, and taking the light she had concealed, discovered by his wings, and the bow and arrows which lay by the side of the nuptial bed, that he was Cupid. But being over

come by his beauty, and lost in contemplation, she let fall from the lamp, a drop of scalding oil on his shoulder, which waked him. Finding she had broken her faith, the offended god sprung up, spread his wings, and carrying her up with him a little, let her fall softly on a cypress tree, the emblem of his dying affection. Psyche having transgressed, is appointed by Venus, (in order to reconcile her) the celestial goddess, and mother of Cupid, to perform certain labours, which appear impossible for her to accomplish, in which, however, she is assisted by invisible agents. That at length the period of her trials and sufferings being over, Mercury was dispatched by the gods to bring her to heaven, where, on drinking ambrosia, she became immortal, and her celestial marriage with Cupid was celebrated.

The whole of this fable, must appear to the intelligent reader, to be taken from the scripture account of the fall of man, a personification of the intercourse first established between God and the church. First, the mythology states, that Psyche was the daughter of a king, and the most beautiful female in the world. Eve was the most beautiful of her sex, and the daughter of God, created, and not born after the manner of men. 2d. That Cupid was never to be seen by Psyche, on earth, and that he was always to come in the night; the VOICE of the Lord God walked (Heb. went forth) in the garden, in the cool of the day. This custom of the bridegroom, not being permitted to see his bride on the nuptial night, was a very ancient one at the time of Jacob, which was derived from the most ancient times before the patriarchs. 3d. Psyche was placed in a beautiful garden; our first parents were placed in Eden. 4th. That the oracle had said, Psyche was not to be married to any one of

mortal descent; Satan, who had presumed to be the oracle to Eve, told her, YE SHALL BE AS GODS.

5th. Psyche being informed by her envious sisters, that her husband was a monstrous serpent in the form of a young man, breaks the solemn agreement that was made between them, which dissolves the union, and she is cast out of the garden; Adam and Eve disobeyed the divine command, and, by listening to the insinuations of the tempter, were driven out of Eden.

6th. When Psyche had been unfaithful, and had discovered Cupid to have wings, he soared away, taking her up a little, and then dropped her; wings, in scripture, and among the eastern writers, signify the affections, which fly to the object of their love. Adam and Eve were made sensible of the affection which God had for them, who, though he could not permit them to remain in Eden, mercifully saved them from destruction, by the promise of a Redeemer.

7th. Tasks and labours were appointed her by the goddess Venus, which, if she could perform, she was to be reconciled to Cupid; one of which was, to descend into the infernal regions, and to bring back in a casket, some of the beauty of the Stygian queen. This agrees

Man had

with the order of things established after the fall. lost his innocence, and suffered himself to be governed by passions, contrary to the heavenly life, in which he was created. The divine communication having been withdrawn, a medium became necessary; the cherubim, and flaming sword, the symbols of the divine presence, were placed at Eden; "tasks and labors," rites and ceremonies were ordained to be observed, as proof of true repentance, by which that mental beauty, or state of things, was to be obtained, which had been lost by disobeying the divine command.