Chap. 5,]
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•CHAPTEE V.
Subject of Wells continued—Wells worshipped—River Ganges —Sacred well at Benares—Oaths ta-
ken at Wells_Tradition of the Rabbins-Altars erected near tliem—Invoked-Ceremonies with regardto
water in Egvpt, Greece , Peru , Mexico , Rome , and Judea—Temples erected over wells—The fountainof Apollo—Well Zem Zem—Prophet Joel— -Tetnple of Isis—Mahommedan Mosques—Hiudoo temples—Woden’s well—Wells in Chinese temples—Pliny—Celts —Gauls—Modern superstitions with regardto water and wells—Hindoos—Algerines—-Nineveh—Greelis—Tombs of saints near wells—Supersti-tions of the Persians —Anglo Saxons —Hindoos—Scotch—English —St. Genevieve’s well—St. Wini-fred’s well—-House and well ‘ Warnung.’
In the early ages water was reverenced as the substance of which allthingsin the universe were supposedtobe made, and the vivifying prin-ciple that animated the whole; hence, rivers, fountains, and wells, wereworshipped and religious feasts and ceremonies instituted in honor ofthem, or of the spirits which were believed to preside over them. Al-most all nations retain relics of this Superstition, while in some it is practi-sed to a lamentable extent. Asia exhibits the humiliating spectacle ofmillions of her people degraded by it, as in former ages. Shoals of pil-grims are constantly in motion over all Hindoston, on their way to the‘ sacred Gangestheir tracks stained with the blood and covered withthe bones of thousands that perish on the road. With these people, it isdeemed a virtue even to thinh of this river; while to bathe in its waterswashes away all sin, and to expire on its brink, or be suffocated in it, isthe clirnax of human felicity. The holy well in the city of Benares isvisited by devotees front all parts of India ; to it they offer rice, &c. as totheir idols.
From this sacred character of water, it very early became a custom, inOrder to render obligations inviolable, to take oaths, conclude treaties,make bargains, &c. at wells. We learn that when Jacob was on his wayto Egypt , he came to the “ wellof the oath,” and offered sacrifices to God .Josephus , Ant . ii, 7. At the same well, his grandfather Abraham conclu-ded a treaty with Abimelech , which was accompanied with ceremoniesand oaths. Gen. xxi. At the celebrated Puteal Libonis, at Rome , oathswere publicly administered every morning; a representation of this wellis on the reverse of a medal of Libo. EnCyc . Ant. 412. It was believedthat the “oaths of the Gods ” was also by water. Univer. His. Vol. iv,17. The Rabbins have a tradition that their kings were always anoint-ed by the side of a fountain. Solomon was carried by Order of David tothe ‘fountain of Gihon,’ and there proclaimed king. Joseph. Ant. vii, 14.
The ancient Cuthites, says Mr. Bryant, and the Persians afterthem, hada great veneration for fountains and streams. Altars were erected inthe vicinity of wells and fountains, and religious ceremonies performedaround them. Thus Ulysses :
Beside a fountain’s sacred brink, we raised
Our verdant altars, and the victims blazed. Riad ii, 368.
“ Wherever a spring rises, or a river flows,” says Seneca, “ there weshould build altars and offer sacrifices,” and a thousand years before Se-neca lived, the author of the 68th Psalm spoke of worshipping God fromthe “ fountains of Israel .” The Syracusans held great festivals every
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