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Osiris was also the principle of good, in the theory which made the mixed good and evil of the world the result of the conflict between the principles of good and evil. 2. Isis, the sister and wife of Osiris; properly the moon, but also pantheistic, including ultimately all the properties and powers represented by female deities. All the Egyptian theology may be said to be concealed under the symbols of Osiris and Isis. The cow was sacred to her, and she usually wears its head or horns or ears on a human head. 3. Typhon, their brother and enemy, the evil principle. He was a sort of Satan, but worse; Satan being an evil being only, not an evil principle-symbolized by the crocodile, sometimes the wolf;-sometimes represented as a monster with a hundred heads and hands, wreathed with serpents, and covered with feathers and scales-a bloated Caliban sort of figure when represented in the human form. 4. Nephthe, sister of Osiris and Typhon, and wife of the latter. The serpent and the dragon were her symbols, and we more than suspect that her figure may be found in the second of those named Seven in the cuts. 5. Ather (Venus). Quite identical with Isis. Indeed the cut bearing her name might, in most respects, stand very well for a figure of Isis. She was the sister of the sun (Osiris), and the wife of Phtha (Osiris), circumstances peculiar to Isis. 6. Orus. Son of Osiris and Isis; identified with Osiris as the sun. Usually represented as a child. He is sometimes represented as a lad with his finger on his lip, in token of mystery and silence. He is then called Harpocrates, whom, however, some accounts make his brother. 7. Arneris. Eldest son of Osiris and Isis, and the model of the Greek Apollo. 8. Cnouphis-Nilus or Canopus. The same in name as one mentioned in the former list, but different and inferior. The difference is, however, not very clear. Usually represented as one of the jars used for percolating the Nile water, with a head and pair of hands on the top. Perhaps this one was particularly the god of the inundation, and the other of the Nile river, and of all waters in general. 9. Bubastis (Diana). Another form of Isis, as the moon. The cat was the symbol of Bubastis, and the city of that name was the chief seat of the cat-worship. 10. Anubis. The brother of Osiris according to some accounts, but, according to others, the illegitimate son of that god, and who assisted Isis with his counsels when she was left regent of the kingdom during the absence of Osiris. He was the more ancient Thoth, and the first teacher of that philosophy and science which the second Thoth revived and completed. The dog was his symbol on account of its vigilance and sagacity, and he is almost invariably represented with a dog's head. The Greeks confounded him with Mercury, calling him Hermes-Anubis. 11. Thoth (2nd), or Hermes-Trismegistus.

SACRED SYMBOLS.

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symbolized by the ibis. He was the thirty-fifth king of Thebes, and is said to have been the reviver and second founder of the theology, laws, and social institutions of the Egyptians, all of which he brought into that system which has been regarded with wonder in every subsequent age. For these services he was deified. 12. Mendes, worshipped in the city of that name, under the form of a goat, represented the prolific principle of the universe. The Greeks identified him with their own Pan, perhaps for no better reason than that both were symbolized by the goat.

This is not a complete list of all the gods of Egypt. Such a list would be difficult to form, and useless for our purpose when formed. It includes all the principal idols, we believe; but that each occupies its proper class and place in this list, it is impossible to say. The only one represented in the cuts which it does not mention is Tiphe-a name we do not remember to have met with except in the great work from which the figures are taken, and where she is identified with Urania, or the heavens. In concluding this notice of the various forms of idolatry which prevailed in Egypt and elsewhere, it is proper to direct attention to the fact, that the only true God did not regard one form with more favour than another, but equally forbade every form of idolatry, and every thing that tended thereto. The command, "Thou shalt have no other gods but me," struck at the root of idolatry, even when unconnected with image or animal worship; and the present commands break up the gently descending road into the depths of idolatry by interdicting all representative or symbolical worship.

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28. "Gods, the work of men's hands, wood."-To complete the series of Egyptian idols, we here give representations of some small images of painted wood, copied from the originals in the British Museum. Figures of this sort are frequently found, and appear to have been a sort of household gods. They are made of the native sycamore wood, and in general bear much resemblance to the form and character of the mummy-cases in which they are most usually found. Wooden statues, on a very large scale, are known to have existed in Egypt, and are mentioned by ancient writers; but the perishable character of the material, as well perhaps as its usefulness as fuel to the barbarians who now occupy the country, has prevented their preservation. Belzoni, however, found two wooden figures, of very fine workmanship, about seven feet high, in the tombs of the kings of Thebes. (See Egyptian Antiquities,' vol. i. pp. 370-374, in Library of Entertaining Knowledge.") We postpone some further observations on the subject of wooden idols to the note on Isaiah xl. 20.

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learn them, and 'keep, and do

2 The LORD our God made a covenant with us in Horeb.

3 The LORD made not this covenant with our fathers, but with us, even us, who are all of us here alive this day.

4 The LORD talked with you face to

2 Exod. 19. 5.

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10 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments.

11 Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain: for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

12 Keep the sabbath day to sanctify it, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee.

13 Six days thou shalt labour, and do all thy work:

14 But the seventh day is the 'sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou.

15 And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the LORD thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm therefore the LORD thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day.

16 Honour thy father and thy mother, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee; that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with thee, in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. 17 Thou shalt not kill.

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18 Neither shalt thou commit adul

tery.

19 10Neither shalt thou steal.

20 Neither shalt thou bear false witness against thy neighbour.

21 "Neither shalt thou desire thy neighbour's wife, neither shalt thou covet thy neighbour's house, his field, or his manservant, or his maidservant, his ox, or his ass, or any thing that is thy neighbour's.

22 These words the LORD spake unto all your assembly in the mount out of the midst of the fire, of the cloud, and of the thick darkness, with a great voice: and he added no more. And he wrote them in two tables of stone, and delivered them unto

me.

23 And it came to pass, when ye heard the voice out of the midst of the darkness, (for the mountain did burn with fire,) that ye came near unto me, even all the heads of your tribes, and your elders;

24 And ye said, Behold, the LORD our God hath shewed us his glory and his greatness, and we have heard his voice out of the midst of the fire: we have seen this day that God doth talk with man, and he liveth.

25 Now therefore why should we die? for this great fire will consume us: if we "hear the voice of the LORD our God any more, then we shall die.

26 For who is there of all flesh, that hath heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived?

27 Go thou near, and hear all that the LORD our God shall say: and "speak thou unto us all that the LORD our God shall speak unto thee; and we will hear it, and do it.

28 And the LORD heard the voice of your words, when ye spake unto me; and the LORD said unto me, I have heard the voice of the words of this people, which they have spoken unto thee: they have well said all that they have spoken.

29 Othat there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever!

30 Go say to them, Get you into your tents again.

4 Heb. servants. 11 Rom. 7.7. 15 Exod. 20. 19.

31 But as for thee, stand thou here by

5 Exod. 34. 7. 12 Exod, 19. 19.

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me, and I will speak unto thee all the commandments, and the statutes, and the judgments, which thou shalt teach them, that they may do them in the land which I give them to possess it.

32 Ye shall observe to do therefore as the LORD your God hath commanded you:

ye shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.

33 Ye shall walk in all the ways which the LORD your God hath commanded you, that ye may live, and that it may be well with you, and that ye may prolong your days | in the land which shall ye

possess.

Verses 8, 9.-" Thou shalt not make thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing.... Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them.”—Are these and other similar prohibitions, coupled, as they always are, with " thou shalt not bow down to them," to be understood as wholly interdicting every kind of sculpture and painting, or only as forbidding images and paintings to be made for idolatrous purposes, or for any purpose connected with religion? This is a question of some difficulty, and the first is the decision at which most commentators, both Jewish and Christian, have arrived. There seem, however, to be very good grounds for disputing this conclusion. Michaelis strongly advocates the second opinion, and contends that we have no right to separate the interdiction from the context, which context shows that representations of Deity, or idolatrous figures, only were intended. We might, with as much reason, in his opinion, separate the first portion of Deut. iv. 19, from its conclusion, and then declare it to mean that a man should not raise his eyes to heaven to contemplate the sun, moon, and stars. He then directs attention to instances which show that Moses did not himself understand the prohibition as it has been commonly understood-such as the cherubim, which, under divine direction, he caused to be made for the most holy place; the figures of cherubim, with fancy work, embroidered upon the "vail," and upon the hangings of the tabernacle; the ornaments of fruits and flowers on the golden candlestick; to which may perhaps be added the brazen serpent. He also shows, we think satisfactorily, that the Jews themselves did not so understand the prohibitions in question. We need but refer to the account of the works in Solomon's Temple to le convinced of this. Besides the cherubim in the holy of holies, the walls were profusely ornamented with figures of cherubim, and of flowers, palm-trees, and pomegranates. The brazen sea also was supported on twelve oxen, its rim was ornamented with flower-work, and the ledges with figures of "lions, oxen, and cherubim." (1 Kings vii.) If such figures were allowable even in the works of the Temple, we have no ground to conclude that they were thought to be prohibited for regal or domestic ornament. Indeed, we know that the steps of Solomon's throne were guarded by twelve lions of gold. (1 Kings x. 19, 20.) We also observe that similar ornaments of cherubim and palm-trees appeared among the ornaments of the Temple which Ezekiel saw in his famous prophetic vision. Even in the times of the second Temple, when a general disposition arose to overstrain the enactments of the law, such a prohibition was not dreamt of. Michaelis instances the golden vines, with pendent clusters, which, according to Josephus, ornamented the roof and gate of the second Temple. He also instances the animal figures on the base of the golden candlestick, as represented in the arch of Titus; but on this we are not disposed to lay much stress, as Josephus seems to say that the Romans tampered with its base when it came into their possession. A strong illustration also, which might be derived from the Jewish coins of this period, as well as from their using coins bearing "the image and superscription" of Cæsar, has escaped the notice of the learned commentator. We see that the shekels and parts of shekels, from the time of the return from captivity, do not contain any animal figures; but they do contain almond and palm trees, ears and sheaves of corn, and vine leaves, and bunches of grapes-not to mention representations of artificial objects. What the Jews thought on the subject after their dispersion, it is of little consequence to inquire; but our opinion upon the whole is, that until the captivity they did not believe that their law prohibited ornamental animal figures; and that after the captivity they did incline to think that representations of animate creatures were prohibited, but not those of inanimate objects. Josephus, who lived in the last days of the Hebrew polity, distinctly intimates this as the opinion of his own time. All the stories which we read at this period, of the aversion of the Jews to images and paintings, will, when examined, be found to refer to idolatrous figures. Thus their marked aversion to the Roman ensigns was probably not so much owing to their being adorned with images, as to the fact that these images were idolatrous. We have indeed admitted that at this period they were disinclined to tolerate animal figures, and may have objected to the standards on that accounf. But as we see they did tolerate the image of Cæsar on the coins in common use among themselves, we incline to think that, while they admitted representations of inanimate objects, without distinction, inasmuch as such were not usually deified, they did, with regard to the latter, distinguish those that were deified from those that were not, admitting the latter and rejecting the former. It is clear that, even at this superstitious time, there were exceptions; but it is difficult to determine what they were. And it is still more clear that, to whatever extent animal figures were thought to be forbidden, inanimate representations certainly were not.

It was undoubtedly from the practice among the Jews of his time, that Mohammed derived his prohibition of painting and sculpture. He no doubt thought that he was following the law of Moses, when he was only following the construction which the Jews of that late day put upon it. His law therefore may be cited, not as illustrating the law of Moses, but as illustrating the practice of the Jews of Arabia in his time. We cite the authentic and received traditions which are more full on this subject than the Koran. Mohammed professed that Gabriel told him that angels would not enter any house in which there were pictures; after which he would not allow a single thing to be in his house with a picture on it, but would break it. The substance of all the traditions on the subject is, that, at the day of resurrection, God will require the painter to put a soul into every picture he has drawn, and as he cannot do that, God, for every such picture, shall appoint a tormentor to burn him with hell-fire. It appears, however, that this restriction was only applied to figures of animate objects; "trees and things without souls" were expressly permitted to be drawn. Mohammed's most trusted wife, Aayeshah, and one of his personal friends, Abuhurairah, concur in relating, with some simplicity, that the former put up a fine door-curtain, on which were "images." He ordered the heads of the figures to be cut off, and as they then looked like trees, he made no further objection to them; but, on the contrary, the same curtain being then used to cover a mattress, he did not hesitate to sit and recline upon it. An anecdote is also related of a painter, who went to Ibn Abbas ("the prince of commentators") and said, "O Ibn Abbas! verily I have no livelihood but from the workmanship of my hands; verily I make pictures; what am I to do?" Ibn Abbas replied, "I will relate to you nothing but what I heard from the Prophet, who said, 'Whoever makes a picture, verily God is his punisher, until he blows a soul into it; and this is not possible."" Then the man was alarmed, and turned pale; when Ibn Abbas added, "Alas upon thee! if thou wilt not leave off drawing, draw trees and the likenesses of those things that have no souls." In existing practice, the orthodox Moslems follow the practice here enjoined VOL. I.

confining themselves to représentations of trees, plants, fruits, and other inanimate objects, which they employ profusely in ornamenting their apartments; but some of the more rigid people think it necessary to abstain even from these. But the sectaries of Ali-the Persians and others-allow themselves full latitude in this matter, and are particularly addicted to portrait painting and representations of the human figure in various circumstances of repose and action. Even they, however, think with horror of attempts to represent God, or indeed to paint the figures of their saints and holy persons. The Moslems, as well as the Oriental Christians, concur in regarding sculpture as far more objectionable than painting.

14. "That thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou."-This is alleged to be at variance with the motive assigned for the observance of the sabbath in Exod. xx. 11, where it is declared to be a memorial of the creation. To this Horne well answers, that the enforcement of the same precept, by two different motives, does not constitute two discordant motives. It seems, however, doubtful to us whether any motive at all is here assigned for the sabbatic observance. The primary motive, after so many years' attention of the day, must already have been familiarly known to all; but some misunderstanding or irregularity in their observance might have required Moses to remind them that their servants also were to participate in the sabbatic rest. The "that" or "so that," expressing consequence, may refer to what immediately precedes; namely, that the cattle were to rest to enable the servants to rest, which they could not otherwise do.

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