386

APPENDIX.

[Part I.

It is true, these several rites wer§ attended withmany peculiarities, very unlike those in any Chris-tian church. But the fathers fastened their eyes ex-clusively on the points of resemblance. They werenot aware, that the Cross was the symbol of worship,of the highest antiquity, in Egypt and Syria ; 27 andthat rites, resembling those of communion 23 and bap-

all the evil and sin which was giv-en to you before the beginning ofthe world ; since all of us are un-der its power, being all the child-ren of Chalchivitlycue ’ [the god-dess of water]. She then washedthe body of the child with wa-ter, and spoke in this manner:‘ Whencesoever thou contest, thouthat art hurtful to this child; leavehim and depart from him, for henow liveth anew, and is bom anew;now is he purified and cleansedafresh, and our mother Chalchivit-lycue again bringeth him into theworld.’ Having thus prayed, themidwife took the child in bothhands, and, lifting him towardsheaven, said, ‘O Lord, thou seesthere thy creature, whom thouhast sent into this world, thisplace of sorrow, suffering, and pen-itence. Grant him, 0 Lord, thygifts, and thine inspiration, for thouart the Great God, and with theeis the great goddess.’ Torches ofpine were kept burning during theperformance of these ceremonies.When these things were ended,they gave the child the name ofsome one of his ancestors, in thehope that he might shed a new

•lustre over it. The name wasgiven by the same midwife, orpriestess, who baptized him.”

27 Among Egyptian symbols, wemeet with several specimens of theCross . One, according to Justus Lipsius , signified “ life to come.”(See his treatise, De Cruce, (Lu-tetise Parisiorum, 1598,) lib. 3,cap. 8.) We find another in Cham-pollion’s catalogue, which he in-terprets, “support or saviour.”(Precis, tom. II., Tableau Gén.,Nos. 277, 348.) Some curious ex-amples of the reverence paid tothis sign by the ancients have beencollected by McCulloh, (Research-es, p. 330, et seq.,) and by Hum­ boldt , in his late work, Géographiedu Nouveau Continent, tom. n.p. 354, et seq.

23 "Ante, Deos homini quod conciliar.;

Far eral,” [valerel

says Ovid . (Fastorum, lib. 1, v.337.) Count Carli has pointed outa similar use of consecrated bread,and wine or water, in the Greekand Egyptian mysteries. (LettresAméric., tom. I. let. 27.) See,also, McCulloh, Researches, p.240, et seq.