the name of Bacchus suggests nothing more than revelry and drunkenness, but it is now well known, that amid all the abominations that attended his orgies, their grand design was professedly "the purification of souls," and that from the guilt and defilement of sin. This lamented one, exhibited and adored as a little child in his mother's arms, seems, in point of fact, to have been the husband of Semiramis, whose name, Ninus, by which he is commonly known in classical history, literally signified "The Son." As Semiramis, the wife, was worshipped as Rhea, whose grand distinguishing character was that of the great goddess "Mother," the conjunction with her of her husband, under the name of Ninus, or "The Son," was sufficient to originate the peculiar worship of the "Mother and Son," so extensively diffused among the nations of antiquity; and this, no doubt, is the explanation of the fact which has so much puzzled the inquirers into ancient history, that Ninus is sometimes called the husband, and sometimes the son of Semiramis.S This also accounts for the origin of the very same confusion of relationship between Isis and Osiris, the mother and child of the Egyptians; for as Bunsen shows, Osiris was represented in Egypt as at once the son and husband of his mother; and actually bore, as one of his titles of dignity and honour, the name "Husband of the Mother."|| This * SERVIUS, in Georg., lib. i. vol. ii. p. 197, and in Æneid, lib. vi. vol. i. p. 400. From Nin, in Hebrew, "A Son."

66

As such Rhea was called by the Greeks, Ammas; see HESYCHIUS, sub voce Ammas." Ammas is evidently the Greek form of the Chaldee Ama, "Mother." § LAYARD'S Nineveh and its Remains, vol. ii. p. 480.

In

BUNSEN, vol. i. pp. 438, 439. It may be observed that this very name "Husband of the Mother," given to Osiris, seems even at this day to be in common use among ourselves, although there is not the least suspicion of the meaning of the term, or whence it has come. Herodotus mentions, that when in Egypt, he was astonished to hear the very same mournful but ravishing "Song of Linus," sung by the Egyptians (although under another name), which he had been accustomed to hear in his own native land of Greece (HEROD., lib. ii. cap. 79). Linus was the same god as the Bacchus of Greece, or Osiris of Egypt; for Homer introduces a boy singing the song of Linus, while the vintage is going on (Ilias, lib. xviii. v. 569-571, pp. 725, 726), and the Scholiast says that this song was sung in memory of Linus, who was torn in pieces by dogs. The epithet "dogs," applied to those who tore Linus in pieces, is evidently used in a mystical sense, and it will afterwards be seen how thoroughly the other name by which he is knownNarcissus-identifies him with the Greek Bacchus and Egyptian Osiris. some places in Egypt, for the song of Linus or Osiris, a peculiar melody seems to have been used. Savary says that, in the temple of Abydos, "the priest repeated the seven vowels in the form of hymns, and that musicians were forbid to enter it.”—Letters, p. 566. Strabo, whom Savary refers to, calls the god of that temple Memnon, but we learn from Wilkinson, vol. iv. pp. 344, 345, that Osiris was the great god of Abydos, whence it is evident that Memnon and Osiris were only different names of the same divinity. Now the name of Linus or Osiris, as the "husband of his mother," in Egypt, was Kamut (BUNSEN, vol. i. pp. 373, 374). When Gregory the Great introduced into the Church of Rome what are now called the Gregorian Chants, he got them from the Chaldean mysteries, which had long been established in Rome; for the Roman Catholic priest, Eustace, admits that these chants were largely composed of "Lydian and Phrygian tunes (Classical Tour, vol. i. p. 379), Lydia and Phrygia being among the chief seats in later times of those mysteries, of which the Egyptian mysteries were only a branch. These tunes were sacred-the music of the great god, and

still further casts light on the fact already noticed, that the Indian God Iswara is represented as a babe at the breast of his own wife Isi, or Parvati.

"

Now, this Ninus, or "Son," borne in the arms of the Babylonian Madonna, is so described as very clearly to identify him with Nimrod. "Ninus, king of the Assyrians,' says Trogus Pompeius, epitomised by Justin, "first of all changed the contented moderation of the ancient manners, incited by a new passion, the desire of conquest. He was the first who carried on war against his neighbours, and he conquered all nations from Assyria to Lybia, as they were yet unaquainted with the arts of war." This account points directly to Nimrod, and can apply to no other. The account of Diodorus Siculus entirely agrees with it, and adds another trait that goes still further to determine the identity. That account is as follows:- "Ninus, the most ancient of the Assyrian kings mentioned in history, performed great actions. Being naturally of a warlike disposition, and ambitious of glory that results from valour, he armed a considerable number of young men that were brave and vigorous like himself, trained them up a long time in laborious exercises and hardships, and by that means accustomed them to bear the fatigues of war, and to face dangers with intrepidity."‡ As Diodorus makes Ninus "the most ancient of the Assyrian kings," and represents him as beginning those wars which raised his power to an extraordinary height by bringing the people of Babylonia under subjection to him, while as yet the city of Babylon was not in existence, this shows that he occupied the very position of Nimrod, of whom the Scriptural account is, that he first "began to be mighty on the earth," and that the "beginning of his kingdom was Babylon." As the Babel builders, when their speech was confounded, were scattered abroad on the face of the earth, and therefore deserted both the city and the tower which they had commenced to build, Babylon as a city, could not properly be said to exist till Nimrod, by establishing his power there, made it the foundation and starting-point of his greatness. In this respect, then, the story of Ninus and of Nimrod exactly harmonise. The way, too, in which Ninus gained his power is the very way in which Nimrod erected his. There can be no doubt that it was by inuring his followers to the toils and dangers of the chase, that he gradually formed them to the use of arms, and so prepared them for aiding him in establishing his dominion; just as Ninus, by training his companions

in introducing them Gregory introduced the music of Kamut. And thus, to all appearance, has it come to pass, that the name of Osiris or Kamut, "the husband of the mother," is in every-day use among ourselves as the name of the musical scale; for what is the melody of Osiris, consisting of the " " formed seven vowels into a hymn, but-the Gamut?

* The name 66 Assyrians," as has already been noticed, has a wide latitude of meaning among the classic authors, taking in the Babylonians as well as the Assyrians proper.

+JUSTIN'S Trogus Pompeius, Hist. Rom. Script., vol. ii. p. 615.

+ DIODORUS, Bibliotheca, lib. ii. p. 63.

for a long time "in laborious exercises and hardships," qualified them for making him the first of the Assyrian kings.

The conclusions deduced from these testimonies of ancient history are greatly strengthened by many additional considerations. In Gen. x. 11, we find a passage, which, when its meaning is properly understood, casts a very steady light on the subject. That passage, as given in the authorised version, runs thus: "Out of that land went forth Asshur, and builded Nineveh." This speaks of it as something remarkable, that Asshur went out of the land of Shinar, while yet the human race in general went forth from the same land. It goes upon the supposition that Asshur had some sort of divine right to that land, and that he had been, in a manner, expelled from it by Nimrod, while no divine right is elsewhere hinted at in the context, or seems capable of proof. Moreover, it represents Asshur as setting up in the IMMEDIATE NEIGHBOURHOOD of Nimrod as mighty a kingdom as Nimrod himself, Asshur building four cities, one of which is emphatically said to have been "great" (ver. 12); while Nimrod, on this interpretation, built just the same number of cities, of which none is specially characterised as great." Now, it is in the last degree improbable that Nimrod would have quietly borne so mighty a rival so near him. To obviate such difficulties as these, it has been proposed to render the words, "out of that land he (Nimrod) went forth into Asshur, or Assyria." But then, according to ordinary usage of grammar, the word in the original should have been "Ashurah," with the sign of motion to a place affixed to it, whereas it is simply Asshur, without any such sign of motion affixed. I am persuaded that the whole perplexity that commentators have hitherto felt in considering this passage, has arisen from supposing that there is a proper name in the passage, where in reality no proper name exists. Asshur is the passive participle of a verb, which, in its Chaldee sense, signifies "to make strong,' and, consequently, signifies "being strengthened," or "made strong." Read thus, the whole passage is natural and easy (ver. 10), “And the beginning of his (Nimrod's) kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh." A beginning naturally implies something to succeed, and here we find it (ver. 11); "Out of that land he went forth, being made strong, or when he had been made strong (ashur), and builded Nineveh," &c. Now, this exactly agrees with the statement in the ancient history of Justin: "Ninus strengthened the greatness of his acquired dominion by continued possession. Having subdued, therefore, his neighbours, when, by an accession of forces, being still further strengthened, he went forth against

"

* See Chaldee Lexicon in Clavis Stockii, where the verb "asher" is rendered "firmavit roboravit.” Ashur, the passive participle, is consequently "firmatus, roboratus." Even in Hebrew this sense seems to be inherent in the verb, as may be concluded from the noun te-ashur, the name of the box-tree (Isaiah lx. 13), the wood of that tree being remarkable for its firmness and compactness. Even in the ordinary Hebrew sense, the meaning is substantially the same; for as Asher means 'to prosper," or "make prosperous," Ashur, in the participle passive, must signify "prospered," or "made prosperous."

other tribes, and every new victory paved the way for another, he subdued all the peoples of the East."* Thus, then, Nimrod, or Ninus, was the builder of Nineveh; and the origin of the name of that city, as "the habitation of Ninus," is accounted for,† and light is thereby, at the same time, cast on the fact, that the name of the chief part of the ruins of Nineveh is Nimroud at this day.‡

Now, assuming that Ninus is Nimrod, the way in which that assumption explains what is otherwise inexplicable in the statements of ancient history greatly confirms the truth of that assumption itself. Ninus is said to have been the son of Belus or Bel, and Bel is said to have been the founder of Babylon. If Ninus was in reality the first king of Babylon, how could Belus or Bel, his father, be said to be the founder of it? Both might very well be, as will appear if we consider who was Bel, and what we can trace of his doings. If Ninus was Nimrod, who was the historical Bel? He must have been Cush; for "Cush begat Nimrod " (Gen. x. 8); and Cush is generally represented as having been a ringleader in the great apostacy.§ But again, Cush, as the son of Ham, was Her-mes or Mercury; for Hermes is just an Egyptian synonym for the "son of Ham."|| Now, Hermes was the great original prophet of idolatry; for he was

JUSTIN, Hist. Rom. Script., vol. ii. p. 615. The words of the original are the following:-"Ninus magnitudinem quæsitæ dominationis continua possessione firmavit. Cum accessione virum fortior, ad alios transiret, et proxima quæque victoria instrumentum sequentis esset totius Orientis populos subegit.

Nin-neveh, "The habitation of Ninus."

LAYARD'S Nineveh and its Remains, vol. i. p. 7, et passim.

§ See GREGORIUS TURONENSIS, De rerum Franc., lib. i., apud, BRYANT, vol. ii. pp. 403, 404. Gregory attributes to Cush what was said more generally to have befallen his son ; but his statement shows the belief in his day, which is amply confirmed from other sources, that Cush had a pre-eminent share in leading mankind away from the true worship of God.

The composition of Her-mes is, first, from "Her," which, in Chaldee is synonymous with Ham, or Khem, "The burnt one." As "Her" also, like Ham, signified "The hot or burning one," this name formed a foundation for covertly identifying Ham with the "Sun," and so deifying the great patriarch, after whose name the land of Egypt was called, in connection with the sun. Khem, or Ham, in his own name was openly worshipped in later ages in the land of Ham (BUNSEN, vol. i. p. 373); but this would have been too daring at first. By means of "Her," the synonym, however, the way was paved for this. "Her" is the name of Horus, who is identified with the sun (BUNSEN, vol. i. p. 507), which shows the real etymology of the name to be from the verb to which I have traced it. Then, secondly, "Mes" is from Mesheh (or, without the last radical, which is omissible, see PARKHURST, sub voce, p. 416), Mesh, "to draw forth." In Egyptian, we have Ms in the sense of "to bring forth " (BUNSEN, vol. i., Hieroglyphical Signs, Append., b. 43, p. 540), which is evidently a different form of the same word. In the passive sense, also, we find Ms used (BUNSEN, Vocabulary, Appendix i. p. 470, at bottom, &c., "Ms. born"). The radical meaning of Mesheh in Stockii Lexicon, is given in Latin "Extraxit," and our English word "extraction," as applied to birth or descent, shows that there is a connection between the generic meaning of this word and birth. This derivation will be found to explain the meaning of the names of the Egyptian kings, Ramesses and Thothmes, the former evidently being "The son of Ra," or the Sun; for Ramesses is 'Hλov Tais (AMMIANUS MARCELLINUS, lib. 17, cap. 4, p. 162); the latter, in like manner, being "The son of Thoth." For the very same reason Her-mes is the "Son of Her, or Ham," the burnt one-that is, Cush.

recognised by the pagans as the author of their religious rites, and the interpreter of the gods. The distinguished Gesenius identifies him with the Babylonian Nebo, as the prophetic god; and a statement of Hyginus shows that he was known as the grand agent in that movement which produced the division of tongues. His words are these: For many ages men lived under the government of Jove [evidently not the Roman Jupiter, but the Jehovah of the Hebrews], without cities and without laws, and all speaking one language. But after that Mercury interpreted the speeches of men (whence an interpreter is called Hermeneutes), the same individual distributed the nations. Then discord began."* Here there is a manifest enigma. How could Mercury or Hermes have any need to interpret the speeches of mankind when they "all spake one language"? To find out the meaning of this, we must go to the language of the Mysteries. Peresh, in Chaldee, signifies "to interpret;" but was pronounced by old Egyptians and by Greeks, and often by the Chaldees themselves, in the same way as 66 Peres," to "divide.” Mercury, then, or Hermes, or Cush, "the son of Ham," was the "DIVIDER of the speeches of men." He, it would seem, had been the ringleader in the scheme for building the great city and tower of Babel; and, as the well-known title of Hermes,-" the interpreter of the gods," would indicate, had encouraged them, in the name of God, to proceed in their presumptuous enterprise, and so had caused the language of men to be divided, and themselves to be scattered abroad on the face of the earth. Now look at the name of Belus or Bel, given to the father of Ninus, or Nimrod, in connection with this. While the Greek name Belus represented both the Baal and Bel of the Chaldees, these were nevertheless two entirely distinct titles. These titles were both alike often given to the same god, but they had totally different meanings. Baal, as we have already seen, signified "The Lord; " but Bel signified "The Confounder." When, then, we read that Belus, the father of Ninus, was he that built or founded Babylon, can there be a doubt, in what sense it was that the title of Belus was given to him? It must have been in the sense of Bel the "Confounder." And to this meaning of the name of the Babylonian Bel, there is a very distinct allusion in Jeremiah i. 2. where it is said, "Bel is confounded," that is, "The Confounder is brought to confusion." That Cush was known to Pagan antiquity under the very character of Bel, "The Confounder," a statement of Ovid very clearly proves. The statement to which I refer is that in which Janus "the god of gods," + from whom all the other gods had their origin,‡ is made to say of himself: "The ancients called me Chaos."§ Now, first this decisively shows that Chaos was known

* HYGINUS, Fab. 143, p. 114. Phoroneus is represented as king at this time.

+ Janus was so called in the most ancient hymns of the Salii.-MACROB., Saturn, lib. i. cap. 9, p. 54, col. 2, H.

By Terentianus Maurus he is called " Principium Deorum."-BRYANT, vol. iii. p. 82.

§ Me Chaos antiqui nam res sum prisca rocabant.—Fasti, lib. i. v.

p. 19.

104, vol. iii.