The Ancient Mysteries.

quet , it is only in the firm hope that , after being freed from the illusions of sense , he goes to rejoin the Supreme Being and to contemplate those eternal truths of which he is the source . Such , in all ages , has been the language of true philosophy , and thus it has exalted the mind of man , by assuring him of immortality . But when we ask what becomes of the souland what fate she is reserved forphilosophis

, , y forced to remain silent ; besides , it lifts its voice only to a few enlightened minds , some of whom indeed have employed against it its own weapons . Religion possesses the double advantage of speaking to the people , and of substituting in the room of abstract speculation , which they are unable to comprehend , such sensible images as leave no doubt in the mind . It was one of her principal dogmas among the Ancientsthat the breath which animates

, is a portion of the universal mind diffused over every particle of matter . "Man is like to God , " said they ; "he is endowed with life and sense , he can reflect on the past , and anticipate the future . He maintains an absolute empire over his body ; he governs and moves it , as God governs the world , which is not less fragile or less perishable . The principle of action alone is eternal . " * The mysteries served chiefly to represent the state of the soul

when it was released from its mortal encumbrance . They taught , not onl y the art of living well here , but of forming the highest hopes of futurity . " The vulgar , " says Plutarch , " believe that nothing- remains after death ; but we , initiated as we are in the sacred rites of Bacchus , and witnesses of his holy ceremonies , we know that there exists a future state . " f Aristides , Strabo , Isocrates , and Eusebins explained themselves also in the same terms . The pre-existence of the soul , and the dogma of the metempsychosis , which seems to be its natural consequence , were also taught in the mysteries .

Accordingly the initiated were informed of the miserable condition out of which their ancestors had been extricated : they were told how from a state of savageness and ferocity they had been reclaimed to a happier way of life by submitting to the government of laws . We must not then be surprised if the greater part of the initiatory ceremonies in the mysteries had a reference to agriculture , which had operated this important revolution , nor that the gods by whom it was invented were those who presided at these solemn festivals .

In describing the establishment of societies , they took care to inculcate that original equality after which men so ardently sigh , which can onl y be found in a-state of nature , or rather , which never did exist if that state itself is a chimera . But since in the best regulated governments , each individual is obliged to sacrifice a part of his liberty to the general utility , religion alone can restore us to our original rights . It teaches us that all are equaland

, that there is no real pre-eminence but that which is conferred b y virtue . The initiated considered themselves as members of one great family . They were taken indifferently out of the various orders of the people ; and the distinctions of rank , of birth , and of fortune gave place to those of brotherly love and mutual benevolence . And as the mysteries had established certain relations between man and the Deity , they served also to shew the

former what ditties he owed his neighbour , and they prescribed to him rules of conduct in every situation of life . Lastly , their object was to purify the soul , to dispose it to receive the sttblimest ideas , and to raise it to the contemplation of intellectual things . This last degree of perfection was the completion of the doctrine which the mysteries unfolded . But none could attain it t such as were and

, excep pure ttndefiled ; who had given instances of strength , of courage , and of attachment to virtue , and who had been tried in the school of adversity . Such was undoubtedl y the motive of the probation which the initiated were obliged to undergo .