The Project Gutenberg eBook ofAphrodisiacs and Anti-aphrodisiacs: Three Essays on the Powers of ReproductionThis ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this ebook or online atwww.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook.Title: Aphrodisiacs and Anti-aphrodisiacs: Three Essays on the Powers of ReproductionAuthor: John DavenportRelease date: January 9, 2009 [eBook #27752]Most recently updated: January 4, 2021Language: EnglishCredits: Produced by Bryan Ness, Turgut Dincer and the OnlineDistributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (Thisbook was produced from scanned images of public domainmaterial from the Google Print project.)*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK APHRODISIACS AND ANTI-APHRODISIACS: THREE ESSAYS ON THE POWERS OF REPRODUCTION ***
This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this ebook or online atwww.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook.
Title: Aphrodisiacs and Anti-aphrodisiacs: Three Essays on the Powers of ReproductionAuthor: John DavenportRelease date: January 9, 2009 [eBook #27752]Most recently updated: January 4, 2021Language: EnglishCredits: Produced by Bryan Ness, Turgut Dincer and the OnlineDistributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (Thisbook was produced from scanned images of public domainmaterial from the Google Print project.)
Title: Aphrodisiacs and Anti-aphrodisiacs: Three Essays on the Powers of Reproduction
Author: John Davenport
Author: John Davenport
Release date: January 9, 2009 [eBook #27752]Most recently updated: January 4, 2021
Language: English
Credits: Produced by Bryan Ness, Turgut Dincer and the OnlineDistributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (Thisbook was produced from scanned images of public domainmaterial from the Google Print project.)
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK APHRODISIACS AND ANTI-APHRODISIACS: THREE ESSAYS ON THE POWERS OF REPRODUCTION ***
Transcriber's note:Old spellings and syntax in the French and English texts have not been corrected except the typos. The letter "m" with a macron have been replaced by "mm" as there is no unicode symbol or symbol combination to display this character satisfactorily. Footnote 224 is reference twice.
Frontispiece
VOTIVE COLUMNSOf the Ancient Oscans.
THE reproductive powers of Nature were regarded by the nations of remote antiquity with an awe and reverence so great, as to form an object of worship, under a symbol, of all others the most significant,—thePhallus; and thus was founded a religion, of which the traces exist to this day, not in Asia only, but even in Europe itself.
That scarcely any notices of this worship should appear in modern works, except in the erudite pages of a few antiquarians may be accounted for by considering the difference of opinion between the ancients and the moderns as to what constitutes—modesty; the former being unable to see any moral turpitude in actions they regarded was the designs of nature, while the latter, by their over-strained notions of delicacy, render themselves,in some degree at least, obnoxious to the charge that, in proportion as manners becomes corrupt, language becomes more guarded,—modesty, when banished from the heart, taking refuge on the lips.
To supply, to some extent, this lacuna in our popular literature has been the object of the present work, in which, it is hoped, may be found much curious and interesting physiological information, interspersed withrecherchéand festivous anecdotes.
The text is illustrated by a few plates, drawn from antiquarian sources.
J. D.
Note.—As it was found impossible always to insert the illustrations opposite the explanatory text, the following List will assist the reader to those pages which explain the objects represented:—
Of small size and of great antiquity; in use amongst the Oscan people, who were finally subjugated by the Sabines.
Egyptian Phallus
From "Recueil d'Antiquités Egyptiennes, &c., par le Comte de Caylus."
do., different view
Two views of a double figure
Roman Priapusover a baker's door at Pompeii
From "Musée secret de Naples."
Lingham
From M. Sonnerat's "Voyage aux Indes Orientales."
Pan's Head
Leaden Phallus
From the "Forgeais Collection of Plombs Historiques."
ditto, a different view
ditto, ditto
ditto, ditto
Round Tower
From O'Brien's "History of the Round Towers of Ireland."
Three-headed Osiris
From the Comte de Caylus' "Recueil d'Antiquités Egyptiennes," &c.
Cross
From Higgin's "Anacalypsis."
Another example
From the same work.
Another example
From the same work.
Another example
From the same work.
Ex Voto
From the British Museum copy of R. Payne Knight's "History of the Worship of Priapus."
DudaïmorMandrake
From Dr. Kitto's "Cyclopædia of Biblical Literature."
Fibula
From Holyday's "Juvenal."
Another example of a different construction
CONTENTS.ESSAY I.PageANCIENTPhallic Worship:Phallic Worship the most ancient and generalPhallic Worship found to exist in AmericaIndian Trimourti or Trinity1-223Lingham3Yoni or Cteis, and Pulleiar4Taly, Anectode of the4Leaden Phalli found in the river Rhône5Round Towers in Ireland—Phallic temples6The May-Pole a relic of phallic worship6Phallus held in reverence by the Jews—King David6Le prerogativi de' Testicoli (note)6An Egyptian Phallic Oath8Ancient Welsh Phallic Law8London Costermongers' Oath "By my taters"9Bembo (Cardinal), his saying (note)10Priapus, derivation of the word10Priapus, how reverenced by Roman women10Priapus, decline of his worship11The Cross (T) known to the Buddhists and the Lama of Thibet12Cross (the) regarded by the Ancients as the emblem of fruitfulness12Rev. Mr. Maurice quoted12xThe Tau, Crux-Ansata, or triple Phallus14Remains of Phallic Worship in Europe14Lampsacus, the Birth-place of the deity Priapus (note)14Saint Foutin14The Phallus of Foutin at Embrun—the holy vinegar16Curious Phallic Customs16-17Godfrey de Bouillon and the Holy prepuce18Il santo-membro18Sir W. Hamilton's account of the Worship paid to Saints Cosmo and Damianus18Ex votos18ESSAY II.Anaphrodisia, or Absence of the Productive Power:Impotency, three kinds of, according to the Canon Law21Impotency, Causes of, proper to Men21Impotency, Causes of, proper to Women21Sterility and its Causes21Morgagni quoted21Clitoris, its length sometimes prevents the sexual union—case quoted by Sir Everard Home24-25Columbus, Martial, Haller, Juvenal, and Ariosto quoted25-26Impotency, Moral Causes of28-29Montaigne's Advice32Impotency caused by too great warmth of Clothing—Hunter's Opinion33Point-Tying—Voltaire's Pucelle d'Orléans quoted35Point-Tying known to the Ancients—instances quoted37-38Point-Tying among the Moderns recognised by James I.40Counter-Charm to Point-Tying41Agreeable Mode of curing such Enchantment42Case of Point-Tying related by Venette43Montaigne's curious Story44Judicial Congress in Cases of alleged Impotency47xiManner of conducting the Congress48Judicial Congress originated with the Church52Judicial Congress practised in France during the 16th and 17th Centuries—Forbidden in 167752Boileau quoted55-56Cases determined by the Judicial Congress54-58Willick, Dr., his Remarks and Advice upon the Sexual Intercourse58-63ESSAY III.Aphrodisiacs and Anti-Aphrodisiacs:The Mandrake or Dudaïm the most ancient aphrodisiac66Rachel and Leah66Solomon's Song67Pliny the Elder quoted68Sappho's love for Phaon accounted for68Superstitious ideas respecting the mandrake during the Middle Ages69The Knights Templars accused of adoring it69Mandrake, Weir's description of it70Mandrake under the name of Mandragora used as a charm70Macchiavelli's Comedy of La Mandragora and Voltaire's account of it71Love potions, Venetian law against them72Richard III. accuses Lady Grey of witchcraft72Maundrell's account of the Dudaïm73Singular Aphrodisiac used by the Amazons75Philters, or love potions used by the ancients75Hippomanes, wonderful powers of, as an aphrodisiac79Recipes for love-potions80Fish an aphrodisiac—Hecquet's anecdote86Mollusca, truffles and mushrooms used as aphrodisiacal88George IV.'s appreciation of truffles (note)88Effect of truffles described by a lady89xiiLatin epigram on the vices of the monks90Naïvetéof a monk on the score of adultery91Curious Quatrain in the Church of St. Hyacinth91Madame Du Barri's secret93Do., Do., description of (note)93Tablettes deMagnanimité—Poudre de joie—Seraglio Pastilles94Musk, Cantharides—effects of the latter96Cardinal Dubois' Account of a Love-Potion98Caricature upon Dubois (note)98Indian Bang104Stimulating Powers of Odours106Cabanis quoted107D'Obsonville quoted108Portable Gold—Shakespeare quoted109-110Bouchard's Account of Aphrodisiacal Charms111Flagellation—Graham's Celestial Bed—Lady Hamilton—Lord Nelson, &c.121-126Burton quoted126Anti-Aphrodisiacs:Refrigerants—Recommendation of Plato and Aristotle128-129Sir Thos. Brown quoted130Origen130Camphor an anti-aphrodisiac134Coffee an anti-aphrodisiac—Abernethey's saying (note)137Infibulation, Holyday quoted141-144Bernasco Padlocks144Voltaire's poem of the Cadenas146Rabelais' anti-aphrodisiacal remedies147-154
Leaden Phalli found in the river Rhône
Round Towers in Ireland—Phallic temples
The May-Pole a relic of phallic worship
Phallus held in reverence by the Jews—King David
Le prerogativi de' Testicoli (note)
An Egyptian Phallic Oath
Ancient Welsh Phallic Law
London Costermongers' Oath "By my taters"
Bembo (Cardinal), his saying (note)
Priapus, derivation of the word
Priapus, how reverenced by Roman women
Priapus, decline of his worship
The Cross (T) known to the Buddhists and the Lama of Thibet
Cross (the) regarded by the Ancients as the emblem of fruitfulness
Rev. Mr. Maurice quoted
xThe Tau, Crux-Ansata, or triple Phallus
Remains of Phallic Worship in Europe
Lampsacus, the Birth-place of the deity Priapus (note)
Saint Foutin
The Phallus of Foutin at Embrun—the holy vinegar
Curious Phallic Customs
Godfrey de Bouillon and the Holy prepuce
Il santo-membro
Sir W. Hamilton's account of the Worship paid to Saints Cosmo and Damianus
Ex votos
Anaphrodisia, or Absence of the Productive Power:
Impotency, three kinds of, according to the Canon Law
Impotency, Causes of, proper to Men
Impotency, Causes of, proper to Women
Sterility and its Causes
Morgagni quoted
Clitoris, its length sometimes prevents the sexual union—case quoted by Sir Everard Home
Columbus, Martial, Haller, Juvenal, and Ariosto quoted
Impotency, Moral Causes of
Montaigne's Advice
Impotency caused by too great warmth of Clothing—Hunter's Opinion
Point-Tying—Voltaire's Pucelle d'Orléans quoted
Point-Tying known to the Ancients—instances quoted
Point-Tying among the Moderns recognised by James I.
Counter-Charm to Point-Tying
Agreeable Mode of curing such Enchantment
Case of Point-Tying related by Venette
Montaigne's curious Story
Judicial Congress in Cases of alleged Impotency
xiManner of conducting the Congress
Judicial Congress originated with the Church
Judicial Congress practised in France during the 16th and 17th Centuries—Forbidden in 1677
Boileau quoted
Cases determined by the Judicial Congress
Willick, Dr., his Remarks and Advice upon the Sexual Intercourse
Aphrodisiacs and Anti-Aphrodisiacs:
The Mandrake or Dudaïm the most ancient aphrodisiac
Rachel and Leah
Solomon's Song
Pliny the Elder quoted
Sappho's love for Phaon accounted for
Superstitious ideas respecting the mandrake during the Middle Ages
The Knights Templars accused of adoring it
Mandrake, Weir's description of it
Mandrake under the name of Mandragora used as a charm
Macchiavelli's Comedy of La Mandragora and Voltaire's account of it
Love potions, Venetian law against them
Richard III. accuses Lady Grey of witchcraft
Maundrell's account of the Dudaïm
Singular Aphrodisiac used by the Amazons
Philters, or love potions used by the ancients
Hippomanes, wonderful powers of, as an aphrodisiac
Recipes for love-potions
Fish an aphrodisiac—Hecquet's anecdote
Mollusca, truffles and mushrooms used as aphrodisiacal
George IV.'s appreciation of truffles (note)
Effect of truffles described by a lady
xiiLatin epigram on the vices of the monks
Naïvetéof a monk on the score of adultery
Curious Quatrain in the Church of St. Hyacinth
Madame Du Barri's secret
Do., Do., description of (note)
Tablettes deMagnanimité—Poudre de joie—Seraglio Pastilles
Musk, Cantharides—effects of the latter
Cardinal Dubois' Account of a Love-Potion
Caricature upon Dubois (note)
Indian Bang
Stimulating Powers of Odours
Cabanis quoted
D'Obsonville quoted
Portable Gold—Shakespeare quoted
Bouchard's Account of Aphrodisiacal Charms
Flagellation—Graham's Celestial Bed—Lady Hamilton—Lord Nelson, &c.
Burton quoted
Anti-Aphrodisiacs:
Refrigerants—Recommendation of Plato and Aristotle
Sir Thos. Brown quoted
Origen
Camphor an anti-aphrodisiac
Coffee an anti-aphrodisiac—Abernethey's saying (note)
Infibulation, Holyday quoted
Bernasco Padlocks
Voltaire's poem of the Cadenas
Rabelais' anti-aphrodisiacal remedies
Plate I.
EGYPTIAN PHALLI.andPompeian House—sign.
FROM the investigations and researches of the learned, there appears to be no doubt but that the most ancient of all superstitions was that in which Nature was contemplated chiefly under the attribute or property of fecundity; the symbols of the reproductive power being those under which its prolific potencies were exhibited. It is not because modern fastidiousness affects to consider those symbols as indecent, and even obscene, that we should therefore suppose them to have been so regarded by the ancients: on the contrary, the view of them awakened no impure ideas in the minds of the latter, being regarded by them as the most sacred objects of worship. The ancients, indeed, did not look upon the pleasures of love with the same eye as the moderns do; the tender union of the sexes excited their veneration, because religion appeared to consecrate it, inasmuch as their mythology presented to them all Olympus as more occupied with amatory delights than with the government of the universe.
The reflecting men of those times, more simple, but, it must beconfessed, more profound, than those of our own day, could not see any moral turpitude in actions regarded by them as the design of nature, and as the acme of felicity. For this reason it is that we find not only ancient writers expressing themselves freely upon subjects regarded by us as indecent, but even sculptors and painters equally unrestrained in this particular.
The statesman took advantage of these religious impressions: whatever tended to increase population being held in honour. Those images and Priapi so frequently found in the temples of the ancients, and even in their houses, and which we consider as objects of indecent lewdness, were, in their eyes, but so many sacred motives exciting them to propagate their species.
In order to represent by a physical object the reproductive power of the sun in spring-time, as well as the action of that power on all sentient beings, the ancients adopted that symbol of the male gender which the Greeks, who derive it from the Egyptians, called—Phallus.1This worship was so general as to have spread itself over a large portion of the habitable globe, for it flourished for many ages in Egypt and Syria, Persia, Asia Minor, Greece and Italy: it was, and still is, in vigour in India and many parts of Africa, and was even found in America on its discovery by the Spaniards. Thus Garcilaso de la Vega informs us2that, in the public squares of Panuco (a Mexican town),bas-reliefswere found which, like those of India, represented, in various ways the sexual union; while at Tlascala, another town of that country, the reproductive act was worshipped under the joint symbol of the generative organs, male and female.
A more surprising fact is, that this worship has, as will be shewn hereafter, been perpetuated to a very late date, among the Christians of Europe.
In its origin, the Phallus or emblem of the generative and procreative powers of nature appears to have been of a very simple and inoffensive character—although it was afterwards made subservient to the grossest and most superstitious purposes.
In India this worship is everywhere to be found accompanying the triune God, called by the Hindoos,TrimourtiorTrinity, and the significant form of the single obelisk or pillar called theLingaorLingham;3and it should be observed, in justice to the Hindoos that it is some comparative and negative praise to them, that this emblem, under which they express the elements and operations of nature is not externally indecorous. Unlike the abominable realities of Egypt, Greece, and Rome, we see this Indian phallic emblem in the Hindoo religious exhibitions, without offence, nor know, until information be extorted, that we are contemplating a symbol whose prototype is obscene.4
Plate II.
LINGHAM and PAN'S HEAD.
Besides the Lingham, the equally significantYoniorCteisis to be seen, being the female organ of generation. It is sometimes single, often in conjunction, for the Indians, believing that the emblem of fecundity might be rendered more energetic by combining the organs of both sexes, did so unite them, giving to this double symbol the name ofPulleiar, confounded by some writers with the Lingham itself. This pulleiar is highly venerated by the sectarian worshippers of Siva (the third god of the Trimourti), who hang it round their neck, as a charm or amulet, or enclosing it in a small box, fasten it upon their arm. The Indians have also a little jewel calledtaly, worn, in like manner, by females round their necks as a charm. It is presented to them on their wedding day by their husbands, who receive it from the hands of the Brahmins. Upon these jewels is engraved the representation, either of the Lingham or of the Pulleiar. The following anecdote connected with this custom is given by M. Sonnerat.5
"A Capuchin missionary had a serious dispute with the Jesuits residing at Pondicherry, which was referred for decision to the judicial courts. The disciples of Loyola, who can be toleration itself when toleration furthers their crafty and ambitious views, had declined all interference with the above custom. M. Tournon, the Pope's legate apostolic, who regarded the matter as one not to be trifled with, and with whom, moreover, the Jesuits were no favourites, strictly prohibited thetaly, enjoining all female converts to substitute in its place either a cross or a medal of the Virgin. The Indian women, strongly attached to their ancient customs, refused obedience. The missionaries, apprehensive of losing the fruits of their zealous labours, and seeing the number oftheir neophytes daily diminishing, entered into a compromise by adopting amezzo-terminewith the females in question, and it was agreed that a Cross should be engraved upon thetaly, an arrangement by which the symbol of Christian salvation was coupled with that of the male and femalepudenda."
The deep and enthusiastic veneration felt by the Hindoos for this worship is naturally explained by their intense anxiety and desire for having children who might perform those ceremonies to theirmaneswhich they firmly and piously believe will have the effect of mitigating their punishment in the world to come. They worship theLingham, therefore, for the sake of having progeny, and husbands, whose wives are barren, send them to adore that symbol, and, if report be true, the ladies take especial care not to disappoint the wish of their dear spouses.
It is probable that the introduction of this worship is due to the Indians who founded the sect of Siva, imagining, as they no doubt did, that the most effectual means of propagating it would be by presenting their deity under the form of that organ by which the reproduction of the human race is effected.
Nothing can be a greater proof of the high antiquity of the Indians than this worship, it being certain that the Egyptians did not establish it, as well as the dogma of the Metempsychosis, among themselves, until after they had travelled in India.
Phalli, usually in lead, have been even found in the river Rhône. These were most likely the signs and tokens belonging to some secret society probably of a licentious character. Similar ones are in theForgeaiscollection, and were engraved in thePlombs Historiésof that antiquarian.6
Plate III.
PHALLIC EMBLEM.Found in the Rhone.From the Forgeais Collection.
According to an ingenious writer,7who is of opinion that theIndians sent, at a very remote period, colonists to Ireland, the round towers, so numerous in that island, are no other than ancient Phallic temples erected in honour of the fructifying power of nature emanating, as it was supposed to do, from the sun, under the name of Sol, Phœbus, Apollo, Abad, or Budh.8
Alluding to these towers, Mr O'Brien observes, "the eastern votaries, suiting the action to the idea, and that their vivid imaginations might be still more enlivened by the veryformof thetemple, actually constructed its architecture after the model of themembrum virile, which, obscenity apart, is the divinity-formed and indispensable medium selected by God himself for human propagation and sexual prolificacy." There is every reason to believe that ourMay-poleis a relic of the ancient Phallic worship.
Plate IV.
ROUND TOWER AT KLONDALKIN,IRELAND.
THREE HEADED OSIRIS
The manners of the ancient Hebrews seem to have differed little, if at all, in this respect, from those of the nations surrounding them: thus, David, dancing with all his might before the ark, lifted up his ephod and exhibited his nakedness to "the eyes of the handmaids of his servants." No blame is attached to the king for such gross indecency during a public and religious ceremony; while Michal, his wife, was punished with barrenness, for expressing her disapprobation of his conduct.9
This example attests the great respect entertained by the Hebrews for the organs of generation;10but we have a furtherproof of this reverence for them in the fact that, when taking a solemn oath, they placed their hand upon them in token of its inviolability: When Abraham, addressing "his oldest servant of his house, that ruled over all that he had," is made to say, "Put I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh, and I will make thee swear, by the Lord, the God of Heaven, and the God of the earth that thou shalt not take a wife unto my son, of the daughters of the Canaanites:"11and when Jacob, at the point of death, "called his son Joseph, and said unto him, "If now I have found grace in thy sight, put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me; bury me not, I pray thee, in Egypt,"12the Hebrew text has been incorrectly translated in both these instances; for, according to learned commentators, it is not thethigh, but thephallusthat is meant; such tact having, in the opinion of the Rabbins, been introduced for the purpose of doing honour to circumcision.
This custom obtains in Egypt, even in our own day, for many travellers assert that the Arabs, when desirous of saluting or making a promise with great solemnity, place their hand upon the part in question. A case in point is related in a letter of the Adjutant-General Julian to a member of the Institute of Egypt.13An Egyptian, who had been arrested as a spy, and brought before the general, finding that all his asservations of innocence could not be understood "leva sa chemise bleue, et prenant son phallus à la poignée, resta un moment dans l'attitude théatrale d'un dieu jurant par le Styx. Sa physionomie semblait me dire:Après la serment terrible que je fais pour vous prouver mon innocence, osez-vous en douter?Son geste me rappela que du tems d'Abraham on jurait vérité en portant la main aux organes de la génération." The vast antiquity of this custom among the ancient Egyptians is proved by figure 2, Plate IV. This figure, which is copied from Caylus, Vol. VI., Plate I., figure 4, represents Osiris grasping his phallus while taking an oath.
A custom greatly resembling this manner of swearing existed also in the north of Europe, as is proved by an ancient law still extant: thus, one of the articles of the Welsh laws enacted byHoel the Good, provides that, in cases of rape, if the woman wishes to prosecute the offender, she must, when swearing to the identity of the criminal, lay her right hand upon the relics of the saints and grasp with her left one, the peccant member of the party accused.14
It may be mentioned,en passant, that the low Irish in Dublin, and the London costermongers, often make use of an expression which, whether connected or not with the custom above noted, offers for our consideration a curious coincidence at least. If extraforce is to accompany an assertion, it is very common for the vulgar to say in conclusion: "S'elp my taters!" or "So help metestes"—equal to saying, "I swear by my member." That the word "taters" is a corruption of, and vulgarism for, "testes" we see very readily in the expression "strain my taters"—i.e., to pass urine or make water.
The Greeks had consecrated the same symbols of universal fecundity in their mysteries, the phallus and the cteis being publicly exhibited in the sanctuary of Eleusis. Themembrum virileoractiveprinciple of generation was carried to the temple of Bacchus and there crowned with a garland by one of the most respectable matrons of the town or city. The Egyptian Osiris, and the femalepudenda, or symbol of thepassiveprinciple of generation were, in like manner, carried in procession to the temple of Libera or Proserpine.
The worship of Priapus among the Romans was derived from the Egyptians, who, under the form of Apis, the sacred Bull, worshipped the generative power of nature; and, as the syllablepriorpresignifies, in the Oriental tongue,principle, production, or natural or original source, the wordPriapusmay be translatedprinciple of productionor offecundation of Apis. The same symbol also bore among the Romans the names ofTutunus,Mutinus, andFascinum. Among the many places where this divinity was worshipped, Lampsacus,15in Asia Minor, was the most noted on account of the obscene rites there practised. The Priapi were of different forms; some having only a human headand the Phallus; some with the head of Pan or of a faun—that is, with the head and ears of a goat.16Others, with their indecent attribute, were placed in the public roads, and were then confounded with the divinitiesMercuryandTerminus, who presided over boundaries. Scaliger says that he saw at Rome, in the palace of a cardinal,17a similar statue, whose phallus had served as a sign post.18All the human part of these Priapi were invariably painted red.19
When furnished with arms, which he was when representing Terminus, Priapus held in one hand a reaping hook, and, like Osiris, grasped with the other the characteristic feature of his divinity, which was always of a monstrous size and in a state of energy.
In the towns, Priapus had public chapels, whither such devotees as were suffering from maladies connected with his attributes repaired for the purpose of offering to himex-votosrepresenting the parts afflicted; these ex-votos being sometimes paintings and, at others, little figures made of wax or of wood, and occasionally, even of marble.
Females as superstitious, as they were lascivious, might be seen offering in public to Priapus, as many garlands as they had had lovers. These they would hang upon the enormous phallus of the idol, which was often hidden from sight by the number suspended by only one woman.
Others offered to the god as many phalli, made of the wood of the willow tree, as they had vanquished men in a single night.
St. Augustine informs us that it was considered by the Roman ladies as a very proper and pious custom to require young brides to seat themselves upon the monstrous and obscene member of Priapus: and Lactantius says, "Shall I speak of thatMutinus, upon the extremity of which brides are accustomed to seat themselves in order that the god may appear to have been the first to receive the sacrifice of their modesty?"20
These facts prove that the worship of Priapus had greatly degenerated with the Romans, since, losing sight altogether of the object typified, they attach themselves to the symbol alone, in which they could see only what was indecent; and hence religion became a pretext for libertinism.21
Respected so long as the Roman manners preserved their pristine simplicity, but degraded22and vilified in proportion as the morals of that people became corrupted, the very sanctuary itself of Priapus failed to protect him from obloquy and ridicule. Christian writers added their indignant invectives to the biting sarcasms of the poets, and the worship of Priapus would have been annihilated had not superstition and the force of habit, that most indestructible of all human affections, come to the rescue. These two powerful levers of mankind triumphed over reasonand Christianity, and succeeded, notwithstanding the strenuous and continued efforts of the latter, in maintaining in some degree the worship of that filthy deity; for the Christian priests, while opposingà l'outrance, the superstitions and impure practices already adverted to, did not so do, as regarded the other customs equally repugnant to decency and true religion. Less austere to these, and consulting their own interests, they turned to their profit the ancient worship established by the Romans and strengthened by habit: they appropriated to themselves what they could not destroy, and, in order to attract to their side the votaries of Priapus, they made a Christian of him.
But besides the Lingham of the Indians, the Phallus of the Greeks, and the Priapus of the Romans, the Cross (symbol T), although generally thought to be exclusively emblematical of eternal life, has also an account of its fancied similarity to themembrum virile, been considered by many as typical of the reproductive powers of nature. It was known as such to the Indians, being as common in their country as in Egypt or in Europe.23"Let not the piety of the Catholic Christian," says the Rev. Mr. Maurice, "be offended at the preceding assertion that the Cross was one of the most usual symbols among the hieroglyphics of Egypt and India. Equally honoured in the Gentile and the world, this Christian emblem of universal nature, of that world to whose four corners its diverging radii pointed, decorated the hands of most of the sculptured images in the former country (Egypt), and the latter (India) stamped its form upon the most majestic of the shrines of their deities."
Plate V.
SYMBOLIC CROSSES.
It is well known that the cross was regarded by the ancient Egyptians as the emblem of fruitfulness. Thus the Rev. Mr.Maurice describes a statue bearing a kind, of cross in its hand as the symbol of fertility, or, in other words, of the procreative and generative powers.24The crosssymbol Tso common upon Egyptian monuments was known to the Buddhists and to the Lama of Thibet 700 years before Christ. The Lama takes his name from theLamah, which is an object of profound veneration with his followers: "Cequi est remarquable," says M. Avril, "c'est que le grand prêtre des Tartares porte le nom de Lama, qui, en langue Tartare, désignela Croix, et les Bogdoi qui conquirent la Chine en 1664, et qui sont soumis au Dulai-Lama dans les choses de la religion, ont toujours des croix sur eux, qu'ils appalentlamas."25
The letterTausymbol T, being the last one of the ancient alphabets, was made to typify, not only the end, boundary, or terminus of districts, but also the generative power of the eternal transmigratory life, and was used indiscriminately with the Phallus; it was, in fact, the Phallus.26Speaking of this emblem, Payne Knight observes: "One of the most remarkable of those symbols of generation is a cross in the form of the lettersymbol T, which thus served as the emblem ofcreationandgenerationbefore the church adopted it as the sign of salvation, a lucky coincidence of ideas which, without doubt, facilitated the reception of it among the faithful."27And again, "the male organs of generation are sometimes represented by signs of the same sort, which might properly be called symbols of symbols. One of the most remarkableof these is the Cross in the form of the lettersymbol T, which thus served as the emblem of creation and generation."28
The famousCrux ansata29which may be seen on all the monuments of Egypt is what is alluded to by the Prophet Ezekiel,30and is affirmed by the learned L. A. Crozius to be nothing else than the triple Phallus mentioned by Plutarch.31
We shall now proceed to notice a few of the traces of the phallic worship as were still to be found lingering in some parts of Europe so late as the 18th century, a tenacity of existence by no means surprising if it be considered that of all the human affections none is more dangerous to oppose, none more difficult to eradicate, than habit. Accordingly it will be found that the above superstition has maintained itself in countries where Christianity was already established, and that, bidding defiance to the severe precepts of that pure faith, it successfully resisted for at least seventeen centuries every effort made to extirpate it by the Christian clergy backed by the civil power. Its triumph was, however, by no means complete, for this worship was constrained to yield to circumstances and to use a disguise by adopting the forms and designations peculiar to Christianity, a mask which on the other hand, favoured not a little, its preservation.
Hence it was that the names of certain legendary saints were given to the ancient God of Lampsacus,32the said names having some relation either to the act over which that deity presided, or to his most prominent attributes.
The first bishop of Lyon was honoured throughout Provence, Languedoc, and the Lyonnais as a saint, and as his name happened to be Pothin, Photin, or Fotin, commonly pronounced by the low ordersFoutin, these people, who are very apt to judge of the nature of things by the sound of the words by which they are designated, thought St. Foutin worthy of replacing Saint Priapus, and accordingly conferred upon him the prerogatives of his predecessor.
SaintFoutin de Varailleshad particular reverence paid to him in Provence, nor is this to be wondered at, since the power was attributed to him of rendering barren women fruitful, stimulating flagging husbands, and curing their secret maladies. It was consequently the custom to lay upon his altar, as was formerly done on that of the god Priapus, small votive offerings, made of wax, and representing the weak or otherwise afflicted parts. Sanci says, "To this saint are offered waxen models of thepudendaof both sexes. They are strewn in great numbers over the floor of the chapel, and should a gust of wind cause them to rustle against one another, it occasioned a serious interruption to the devotions paid to the saint. I was very much scandalized,"continues he, "when, passing through the town, I found the name ofFoutinvery common among the men. My landlord's daughter had for godmother a young lady whose name wasFoutine."
The same saint was similarly honoured at Embrun. When the Protestants took that town in 1585, they found, among the relics of the principal church, thePhallusof St. Foutin. The devotees of that town, in imitation of pagan ones, made libations to this obscene idol. They poured wine over the extremity of the Phallus, which was dyed red by it. This wine being afterwards collected and allowed to turn sour, was calledthe holy vinegar, and, according to the author from whom this account is taken,33was applied by women to a most extraordinary purpose; but what that purpose was we are not informed, and therefore can only guess it.
At Orange there was also a phallus much venerated by the inhabitants of that town. Larger than the one at Embrun, it was, moreover, covered with leather, and furnished with its appendages. When, in 1562, the protestants destroyed the church of St. Eutropius, in this town, they seized the enormous Phallus and burned it in the market place. Similar Phalli were to be found at Poligny, Vendre in the Bourbonnais, and at Auxerre.
The inhabitants of Puy-en-Velay even to this day speak of their St.Foustinwho, in times not far remote from our own, was invoked by barren women who, under the idea of giving greater efficacy to their prayers, scraped the phallus of the saint, and, mixing the particles so abraded in water, devoutly swallowed them, in the hope of thereby being rendered fruitful.
It is no doubt to one of these phallic saints that Count deGebelin refers when, speaking of the goatMendés, he says: "I have read somewhere that in the south of France there existed not long ago a custom resembling the one mentioned; the women of that part of the country devoutly frequented a temple containing a statue of the saint, and which statue they embraced, expecting that their barrenness would be removed by the operation.34
In the neighbourhood of Brest stood the chapel of the famous Saint Guignole, or Guingalais, whose Phallic symbol consisted of a long wooden beam which passed right through the body of the saint, and the fore-part of which was strikingly characteristic. The devotees of this place, like those of Puy-en-Velay, most devoutly rasped the extremity of this miraculous symbol for the purpose of drinking the scrapings mixed with water as an antidote against sterility, and when by the frequent repetition of this operation, the beam was worn away, a blow with a mallet in the rear of the saint propelled it immediately in front. Thus, although it was being continually scraped, it appeared never to diminish, a miracle due exclusively to the mallet.
Antwerp was the Lampsacus of Belgium, Priapus being the tutelary god of that city.Terswas the name given to him by the inhabitants who held this divinity in the greatest veneration. Females were accustomed to invoke him on the most trivial occasions, a custom which Goropius informs us continued as late as the 16th century.35
So inveterate was this superstition that Godefrey de Bouillon, marquis of that city, the illustrious leader of the first crusade, in order to eradicate it, or to replace it by the ceremonies of theChristian church, sent to Antwerp, from Jerusalem, as a present of inestimable value, theforeskin of Jesus Christ.36This precious relic, however, found but little favour with the Belgian ladies, and utterly failed to supersede their belovedFascinum.37
In the kingdom of Naples, in the town of Trani, the capital of the province of that name, there was carried in procession, during the Carnival, an old wooden statue representing an entire Priapus, in the ancient proportions; that is to say, that the distinguishing characteristic of that god was very disproportioned to the rest of the idol's body, reaching, as it did, to the height of his chin. The people called this figureil Santo Membro, the holy member. This ancient ceremony, evidently a remains of the feasts of Bacchus, called by the GreeksDyonysiacs, and by the RomansLiberalia, existed as late as the commencement of the 18th century, when it was abolished by Joseph Davanzati, archbishop of that town.