CHAPTER I
(Pp.1-15)
The book opens with a preliminary statement, in general terms, of the object which its author has in view. It is to prove that the round towers date from a more remote antiquity than that usually assigned to them; that they were, in fact, erected long before Christianity reached these islands, and even before the date of the Milesian and Scandinavian invasions. In support of this view, he contrasts the materials, architecture, and costliness of their construction with those of the early Christian churches usually found in their vicinity (cf. p. 514), and accounts for the contiguity of the latter by stating that the Christian missionaries selected, as the sites of their churches, localities previously consecrated to religious use, in order that they might thereby “conciliate the prejudices of those whom they would fain persuade”; whilst he points out that a Christian origin has not been claimed for Cromleachs and Mithratic caves, in the vicinity of which ecclesiastical remains likewise abound. On the other hand, he insists that the general structure and decorative symbolism of the round towers is clearly indicative of pagan times and a pagan origin, more especially of that primitive form of paganism which, originating in Chaldea, diffused itself eastward until it overspread a considerable part of Asia, and which is known asSabaism. Dissenting from the theories of his predecessors in the same field of inquiry, he rejects the various theories that the round towers were intended as “purgatorial columns,” or “beacons,” or“belfries,” or “dungeons,” or “anchorite-cells,” or “places of retreat” in the case of hostile invasion, or “depositories” for State records, Church utensils, or national treasures; and he states as his conviction, based on examination of their structure, that it was not the intention of their founders to limit their use to any one specific purpose.
CHAPTER II
(Pp.16-32)
Following up this line of argument, he attacks Montmorency, who had maintained that the founders of the round towers were “primitive Cœnobites and bishops, munificently supported in the undertaking by the newly-converted kings and toparchs; the builders and architects being those monks and pilgrims who, from Greece and Rome, either preceded or accompanied the early missionaries of the fifth and sixth centuries.” Reserving a detailed refutation of this theory for subsequent chapters, he contents himself for the present with showing that it rests upon mere assumption, which is not borne out by the evidence adduced in corroboration thereof; and exposes the fallacy of Montmorency’s argument, that pre-Christian Ireland was in a state of barbarism which precluded the possibility of such structures as the round towers being erected by its inhabitants. He further deals with the objections, that the bards do not allude to these towers as existent in their time, that those undoubtedly ancient excavations, the Mithratic caves, are never found in the vicinity of round towers, and that the limited nature of their accommodation made them serviceable only for some such purpose as that of a belfry or dungeon. With Vallancey’s views he finds himself more in sympathy, but is unable to adopt them unreservedly—preferring, as he puts it, to chalk out his own road.
CHAPTER III
(Pp.33-47)
Continuing his attack upon Montmorency, the author points out that the towers erected elsewhere by Cœnobite associations are always square, not round, and that any argument based upon the elevated position of the entrances to both classes of edifices would apply equally to the pyramids. He shows that the round towers could not have been intended as places of refuge, or as depositories of ecclesiastical treasures, and adduces historical proof that the structures known as “belfries” were wholly different. Alluding to the supposed band of voluntary Cœnobite workmen underSaint Abban, he points out that their building operations must necessarily have been carried on in the midst of a raging war; that although they must have availed themselves of native assistance in the work, yet the Irish of the early Christian period betray not the slightest knowledge of the art of building; that the building of round towers ceased quite suddenly, almost immediately after the introduction of Christianity; that the native Irish have never attributed these towers to such an origin; that, so far from being, as Montmorency alleges, assisted by the munificence of native princes, the Cœnobite monks must have had to deal with absolute pagans, who would regard their labour with anything but approval; and that the fact of “kills,” or remains of Christian churches, being found in the vicinity of Cromleachs, Mithratic caves, and round towers is simply the result of the reverence felt by the pagan converts for the scenes and associations of their old belief, and affords no ground for supposing that the churches were coeval with the latter. Subsequently (at p. 514) he cites the instance of a round tower without any church near it.
CHAPTER IV
(Pp.48-62)
In tracing the origin and purpose of the round towers, our author is led to consider the names given them in ancient records and Irish folk-lore. The stunted ruin of Bally-Carbery Round Tower, near his own birthplace, was, he found, known to the peasantry as the “Cathoir ghall,”i.e.“the temple of brightness or delight,” whilst both in theAnnals of the Four Masters, theUlster Annals, and theAnnals of Innisfallenthese towers are included in the generic nameFiadh-Neimhedh, as contrasted with the namesCloic teachaandErdamapplied to “belfries,” thus showing that the two kinds of structures are perfectly distinct. He finds thatFiadh-Nemeadthin all preceding writers on the subject is held to apply specifically to the round towers, though some of these writers (e.g.Colgan and O’Connor) have wrested its meaning to support their own particular views, and the true import of this term he subsequently explains to be “consecrated Lingams” (p. 105), orphallic temples. The “belfry” and thegnomon, or “celestial index,” theories are thus exploded. From historical evidence he is further led to assume that Ireland is identical with theInsula Hyperboreorumof the ancients, and that the legendary mission of the BoreadanAbaris[27]to Delos took place during theScythianoccupation of Ireland. This friendly communication between the ancient Irish and the Greeks he attributes to their having sprung from a common stock—thePelasgiand theTuath-de-danaansbelonging to “the same time as the Indo-Scythæ, or Chaldean Magi.” He traces briefly the relations between theTuath-de-danaansettlers in Ireland and their Scythian (or Milesian) conquerors, and shows that to the former is due the high state of civilisation and learning for which ancient Ireland was distinguished, and which degenerated under Scythianrule; and concludes with a general statement as to the prevalence ofSabaicworship therein, and the phallic configuration of the round towers.
CHAPTER V
(Pp.63-76)
Being now fairly launched on the subject ofSabaism, or worship of natural manifestations of the divine energy, he traces its origin, development, and decadence into idolatry. Amid the heterogeneous confusion of beliefs that seem to have sprung up among the descendants of Noah, Nimrod introduced the worship of the sun as a deity, but only as a part of that general Sabaism which included the whole “host of heaven” as objects of worship, and recognised the Godhead, of which they were simply manifestations, under the names ofBaalandMoloch. Gradually, the creature was substituted for the Creator, and their names, especially the former (Bolati), were applied to the sun, “as the source and dispenser of all earthly favours,” while to the moon was attributed a corresponding reverence under the nameBaaltis, though in both cases the object of internal regard was intended to beNature, or “the fructifying germ of universal generativeness.” From the tendency of man to the concrete, this central idea was soon lost sight of, and the material element put in its place—hence cameFire-worship. Originating in Chaldea, this degenerated form of Sabaism in course of time spread eastward until it reached Persia, where eventually there seems to have been a reversion to the principle which underlay it,i.e.that ofgenerationandnutrition, in which form it afterwards extended to India. Though fire was the ostensible object of worship, the sun and moon, from which that worship originated, were regarded and reverenced as “the procreative causes of general fecundity,” with which was coupled the notion of regeneration after dissolution of the body. Hence when, as will appear hereafter, Eastern Sabaism was introduced into Ireland by the Tuath-de-danaans,the round towers created by them as temples of their worship had both a phallic and sepulchral meaning.
CHAPTER VI
(Pp.77-90)
That purer form ofSabaismin which the central idea of “the All-good and All-great One” predominated over materialism, seems to have prevailed in ancient Egypt, and to a more definite extent in India, whilst in both these countries, and also in Ireland, its material side led to the cultivation of astronomy. Hence thepyramidsof Egypt, thepagodasof India, and theround towersof Ireland had both a religious and a scientific purpose. There is no ground, however, for supposing that the round towers were “fire-temples.” Though temples of the latter kind undoubtedly exist in Ireland, their structure is altogether different, and they evidently belong to a later period, showing, in fact, traces of an Italian origin. Fire-worship was probably introduced into Italy from Greece, where it had been practised by the old Pelasgic stock, who, on their expulsion from Thessaly, settled in Etruria, bringing their worship with them.
CHAPTER VIII
(Pp.91-106)
From a careful study of Eastern records and Sabaism, the author is led to take up the position that the round towers were constructed by early Indian colonists of Ireland (theTuath-de-danaans), in honour of “the fructifying principle of nature,” of which the sun and moon are representative. The emblem of this principle was thephallusin the case of the sun, and thecrescentin that of the moon. The round tower was simply a monumentalphallus, which fact is taken to explain the terms “Cathoir ghall” and “Fidh-Nemphed” to which he alludes in chap. iv.; whilst thecrescentornament by which many of thesetowers were surmounted is symbolical of the female nature. A corroboration of this theory is found in the circumstance that the nameBudh, by which these towers are “critically and accurately designated, signifies in Irish, first, thesun, and secondly, what φαλλός,phallus, does in Greek and Latin,” a view which is supported by the analogy of Egyptian sun and moon worship.
CHAPTER IX
(Pp.107-126)
Having thus committed himself to the view that the paganism which founded the Irish Round Towers was a religion of whichBudh(i.e.the sun and thephallus) was the central idea, and which, therefore, resembled in its essence the faiths of India and Egypt, the author proceeds to trace the origin of this religion. In India the latter is known asBuddhism, or that form of Sabaism taught by Buddha; but the author is persuaded that there never was such a person as Buddha—at least, when the religion first shot into life, which was almost as early as the creation of man—though in later times several enthusiasts assumed that name. The origin of the religion was, in fact, “an abstract thought,” which cannot easily be expressed in words until it is reduced to the materialised forms of that practical Sabaism which each nation framed for itself, and which consisted in the worship of generative and productive power under its various manifestations. Hence the objects of worship ranged from the sun and moon even to agricultural operations, and, of course, included sexual physiology. Indian Buddhism worshipped theLingam(orphallus) as the emblem ofBudh(i.e.the Sun), but without any sensual alloy in such reverence, which, in fact, necessitated the observance of a strict moral code. Among other requirements of this code was the performance of works of charity,Dana(i.e.the giving of alms), and the religionists were hence calledDanaansorAlmoners. The bearing of all this upon Irish paganism is explained by referring to theintimate connection that in early times existed between Ireland and the East, from whence its Tuath-de-danaan colonists were derived. The nameErin, together with its Greek formIerne, and its Latin transmutationHibernia, is shown to be identical withIran, the ancient name ofPersia, which, modified intoIrin, was applied by the Greek historians to the “Sacred Island” of the West, and recognised by Gildas and Ordericus Vitalis as the established designation of Ireland in their time.
CHAPTER X
(Pp.127-141)
Developing this last argument, our author shows that, whileIran(or “the sacredland”) was a name applied to both Persia and Ireland, the formIrin(SacredIsland) is exclusively applied to Ireland, and thatIrc,Eri,Ere, andErinare but modifications of the latter. The Greeks commuted this name ofIrinintoIerne, which is merely a translation (ἱερός + νῆσος); and the Latins, by putting anHfor the rough breathing of ἱερός, and interpolating abfor sound’s sake, transformed the latter intoHibernia, the meaning “Sacred Island” being preserved. But by its own inhabitants it continued to be known asFuodhla,Fudh-Inis, andInis-na-Bhfiodhbhadh, names associating the worship which prevailed therein with the profession of the worshippers, for they respectively denote the land or island ofFuodhorBudhandBudhism. TheBudhhere mentioned was identical with the phallic deity worshipped by the Tuath-de-danaans under the name ofBuodh(known also as Moriagan and Fareagh or Phearagh), which name the Scythian invaders afterwards adopted as their war-cry (BooorA-boo). The peculiar tenets of Irish Budhism were embodied in a mass of literature committed to the flames by Saint Patrick; but the history of pagan Ireland still survives in MSS. scattered over Europe, whilst an image ofBuodh, orFareagh, bearing a close resemblance to those of the EasternBuddha, and to the idols ofMatambo“whose priests are sorcerers or magicians” (afterwards shown to be the meaning ofTuath-de-danaans), has been unearthed at Roscommon, and is now in the Museum of Trinity College, Dublin.
CHAPTER XI
(Pp.142-156)
From India our author now diverges to Egypt. The similarity between the regal title “Pharaoh” andPhearaghorFareaghjust mentioned is accounted for by the invasion of Egypt by theUksi, orHyksos(Royal Shepherds or Shepherd Kings), who, according to Manetho, came “from the East.” The IndianVedas, which corroborate his account, term themPali, or “shepherds”; and the rigorous nature of their sway accounts for the dislike manifested by the Egyptians towards the Israelites, who were a pastoral people. That they introduced their form of worship into Egypt, is shown by the description which Herodotus gives of the rites, ceremonies, and usages of the Egyptian priests, resembling those practised by the Brahmins. Historical evidence points to the erection by them of the greater pyramids, also to their introduction of those magical arts for which the Egyptians became notorious. This latter fact brings theUksiinto connection with theTuath-de-danaans(whose name is indicative of proficiency in magic), and serves to strengthen the author’s opinion that both belonged to the same Chaldean stock.
CHAPTER XII
(Pp.157-166)
The pyramids of Egypt may be said to correspond, with one significant difference, to the round towers of Ireland. Both are characterised by the highest architectural skill; both are constructed with an evident reference to astronomical purposes; both afford indications that they wereinter aliaappropriated to sepulture; and both aredistinctively of phallic or, more strictly, Sabaic import. But in this last feature a divergence becomes evident. The symbolism of the principle of “generative production” common to both is in the form of the pyramid more emblematic of thefemalenature (see pp. 267-269), whilst the round towers typify themale—a divergence which the author subsequently treats in more detail. To it may be due the circumstance that these excavations or “wells” which exist beneath the pyramids have not hitherto been found under round towers.
CHAPTER XIII
(Pp.167-176)
In connection with the last paragraph, attention is, however, drawn to the fact that round towers have usually been erected in the vicinity of water; and that this may have been owing to a real, though less dominant, veneration of the female principle, is probable from the extensive use of bathing in the worship ofAstarte, the representative of that principle whose peculiar emblemism is apparent in the ornamentation of the round towers. Traces of the apparatus for a bell found on the summit of one of the latter edifices affords no proof of its original purpose as a belfry. For though bells were used in pagan ceremonials, they were not rung to summon worshippers; and the fact may have been that, after their conversion to Christianity, the Irish applied round towers occasionally to the only purpose for which they could then be used in connection with public worship.
CHAPTER XIV
(Pp.177-192)
Recurring to the affinity of Ireland with ancient Persia (Iran), the history of the latter country is traced from its settlement by theAryans. According to tradition preserved in the collection of sacred books known as theZendavesta, the original seat of that people was theEriene-Veedjo, a district situated in the north-western highlands of Asia, of great fertility, and enjoying a singularly mild climate, having seven months of summer and five of winter. Then “the death-dealing Ahriman smote it with the plague of cold, so that it came to have ten months of winter and only two of summer”; and was in consequence deserted by its inhabitants, who gradually overspread the low-lying countries, as far south as the Indus, includingFars, as Persia was then termed. They were a vigorous and energetic race these Aryans, who soon became dominant in their new quarters, substituting the name of their own country (Iran, or thesacred land, formed from the ancient ZendEriene) for that of Fars, and founding a dynasty, or rather succession of dynasties, which superseded the government formerly in existence. The mixture of races led to a certain diversity of language, and thus originated the Zend andPahlavior Sanskrit dialects, which bear a remarkable affinity to Irish (cf.Palaver). There was further a diversity of religions, the old religion ofHushang, a predecessor of Zoroaster, being professed by many long after fire-worship became the dominant faith of Persia.
CHAPTER XV
(Pp.193-210)
This ancient religion of Hushang, which was doubtless that of the Aryans, seems to have been of thatSabaicorder practised by the Chaldeans, which, as we have seen, recognised the heavenly bodies as the most imposing representatives of a divine power, and cannot therefore be fairly described asidolatry. It was idealistic, in so far as it regarded the different energies of nature simply as manifestations of a great creative power, whereas the idolatrous stage did not supervene until this purer faith degenerated into materialism. With this religion that of the ancient Irish harmonized. The dominance of sun and moon worship in the latter is shown by the way in which the various titles of these luminaries are interwoven with thelanguage; most of the Irish local names, as well as the names of traditional festivals, consisting of variants of different epithets applied to the sun and moon, which the pagan Irish considered to be united in matrimony, just as the Egyptians didOsirisandIsis, their equivalents.
CHAPTER XVI
(Pp.211-226)
A faith thus compounded of love, religion, and astrology has necessarily a triple aspect; and, according to the particular component kept in view, or the etymology professed, may be termedSabaism,Buddhism, orPhallism. It constitutes the most primitive form of worship, and is the source from whence all the faiths of the world have been derived. Hence the corresponding features in distinct mythologies. Brahminism, for example, is an offshoot from Buddhism, owing to the apostasy of Paramon, the son of Budh-dearg; and the essential notions of Christianity, the doctrines of a virginal conception, a vicarious sacrifice, and a resurrection, have their counterparts in both these faiths. The phallic element, ignored by Christianity, maintained its place in Oriental and Irish paganism. The adjuncts ofLingamworship occur in the worship ofBudh. The pagodas of India have their counterparts in the round towers. The symbolism expressed in the sculptures of Elephanta, Ellora, and Salsette is reflected in the carvings at Clonmacnoise, Kilcullen, and Knockmoy. The Cross is universal, not distinctive; and the purposely mutilated cryptograms of the Crescent and the Serpent belong to a paganism long antecedent to the Christianity which partially effaced them.
CHAPTER XVII
(Pp.227-239)
Researches into the distinctive character of Irish paganism show that its main element was the phallic type ofSabaism, the Irish language affording remarkable evidenceof this fact. Many of its words and all its letters embody a twofold meaning, denoting in the first place somepassion, quality, or virtue, and in the next itssensible index. For example,BudhorFiodhmeans primarily alingam, orphallus, and secondarily atree; and this peculiarity of an esoteric meaning known only to the learned, and an esoteric one understood by the masses, it shares with Hebrew, which belongs to the same linguistic family. Of this we have an example in the scriptural allegory of “Eve and thetreeof knowledge,” wherein the esoteric import of “tree” isphallus. We thus arrive, as it were, at the fount of Buddhism. Eve may be regarded as the first Buddhist, and her son Cain, who offered the fruits of the earth to “the God of nature and of increase” (Budh), as the first priest of that order. This allegory is found repeated in different forms among the various populations of the world—in Egypt, India, Persia, and elsewhere. It gave rise to many typical commemorations in various countries, such as the “Maypole festivals” of Eastern lands, whence the custom emanated to Ireland (with theTuath-de-danaansettlers), where it is still practised.
CHAPTER XVIII
(Pp.240-251)
The scriptural allegory of the “Fall of Man,” involving, as it does, the history of Cain, has an intimate bearing upon the ancestry of theTuath-de-danaans. Cain had a son, Enoch, whose name connotes as usual a twofold meaning, signifying first,Initiation in sacred rites; secondly,an assembly of congregated multitudes. The son of Enoch was namedIrad, i.e.consecrated to God(Budh); hence the region where he dwelt was calledIran, meaningthe land of those so consecrated; from which it is argued that in that precise region the Budhists first established the insignia of their empire. Now, theDabistanrecords declare that althoughKaimourswas generally regarded as the first king of Persia (Iran), he had many predecessors;and that long before the time of Zoroaster the Persians venerated a prophet calledMahabadorMaghabad(the Great, or Good,Abad), whom they considered as “the Father of men,” and who had thirteen successors of his own family, all styledAbad. ThisAbad, orMaghabadean, dynasty eventually became so corrupt that it was banished tothe woods and mountains, whenKaimourswas called to the throne. For various reasons the author is persuaded that the Maghabadeans were the direct descendants of Cain. Their name had the usual twofold signification: first, The unity of the Godhead; secondly, a sacerdotal institution; andTuath-de-danaanis simply a translation or ampliative rendering of the latter—Tuathbeing a modification ofBudh, and also signifyingmagic;De, the vernacular term for the Deity; andDanaansignifying Almoners—the whole thus meaningMagician-god-almoners, or the Almoner-magicians of the Deity.
CHAPTER XIX
(Pp.252-263)
Assuming that theTuath-de-danaansoriginally occupied Iran, or Persia, their migration to Ireland is thus explained. An internecine variance, arising out of a purely religious question, sprang up among them. They became divided into two sects—one maintaining that themaleinfluence was dominant in the production of offspring; the other thatfemaleinfluence was more effective. Each adopted a distinguishing title, emblematic of the sex whose virtues it proclaimed. The former did not find it necessary to change the nameTuath-de-danaan, since the esoteric meaning ofTuath(i.e.Budh) was the emblem ofmasculinity; but the others adopted the title ofPish-de-danaans, becausePish, orPith(synonymous withYoni), denoted that offemininity. The war which resulted from this variance of opinion was waged with all the bitterness which usually marks polemic differences; and thePish-de-danaans, proving completely victorious, expelled their rivals from the sacred soil of Iran.TheTuath-de-danaans, or at least a portion of them (cf. p. 443), fled westward, and after many vicissitudes reached Europe, where traces of them are found in parts of Greece, Italy, and Spain; and from the country last named (by help of thePhœnicians, who were the great sea-carriers of those days), they made their way to Ireland. It is remarkable that a parallel account appears in Hindu records of the severance which took place between theLingajasand theYonijason a precisely similar question.
CHAPTER XX
(Pp.264-284)
Although the Persian historians maintain silence, the evidence of other authorities in support of this episode is not wanting. For instance, when referring to Buddha, Oriental writers agree that he was born inMaghada; also that he was the son ofSuad-de-dana—Suadbeing convertible withTuath, and both resolvable intoBudh. Without professing to map out the exact route by which theTuath-de-danaansmade their way to Ireland, the author maintains that the fact of their having occupied that country for a considerable time is incontrovertible. As for their rivals, thePish-de-danaans, it has already been stated that they, in their turn, had to leave Persia whenKaimourswas called to the throne; and the presumption is that they were identical with thoseUksi, or Shepherd Kings, who overran Egypt, and to whom the erection of pyramids emblematical of the female nature is ascribed. Their distinctive views may, it is pointed out, have prevailed among them from the time when they formed a portion of the Noachidæ; for the “Ark” was typical of the dominant idea in their belief, and the same idea was typified under another form in the pyramids. A variant symbol of this idea is thecrescent(orlunar boat), of which certain Irish ornaments are representative. It is further possible that thePish-de-danaantradition of the deluge may have been communicated to Moses during his stay inEgypt, and that the narrative is more figurative than historical.
CHAPTER XXI
(Pp.285-304)
Among the sculptured symbols of the faith held by the ancient Irish, that of theCrossstands pre-eminent; but it would be a mistake to infer from this circumstance the existence of Christianity in Ireland at the time when these sculptures were wrought. The cryptogram of the Cross is found everywhere, both in the Old and New World, among the relics of nations whose paganism does not admit of doubt, and it dates from a period long antecedent to Christianity. Buildings of cruciform structure, and evidently devoted to religious uses, exist all over the East and West; and both they and theMithratic caves, for which no one has ever claimed any but a pagan origin, partake of the same character. To aver that the Cross was emblematical of avicarious sacrificeby which the redemption of mankind was accomplished, is merely to say that it expresses a belief common to many Sabaic faiths of the pagan world—a belief of which it was the recognised emblem in Egypt, India, Greece, Rome, Scandinavia, and America, as well as in Ireland.
CHAPTER XXII
(Pp.305-324)
The argument as to the pagan origin of Irish cross-symbolism is pursued and developed, and the connection of the symbol in question with the IrishBudh-gaye(corresponding to the HinduBudha-gaya), or representative of generative power (gaye-phallus), demonstrated. The symbolism of which it forms a type is ubiquitous, being found in archaic sculpture all over the Eastern and Western World: nor did Plato exaggerate when he said—‘The letter X is stamped upon the universe.’
CHAPTER XXIII
(Pp.325-340)
A remarkable instance of this widely prevalent doctrine of the vicarious sacrifice of some incarnation of the Deity accomplished by a purely virginal conception is afforded in the HinduPuranas, which recount the incarnation ofVishnu(orCrishna) in theWhite Island, and the subsequent crucifixion of the fruit of this conception, under the name ofSulivahana(cf. the Irish patronymicSulivan), called alsoDhanandhara,i.e.theSacred Almoner(cf.Danaanand its meaning). Curiously enough, the mystic, or esoteric, name of ancient Ireland wasMuc Inis, meaningWhite Island; and the details of a similar crucifixion are, with strictly pagan accompaniments, reproduced in the sculptures at Knockmoy, in Galway, which further closely resemble not only a sculptured portrayal on the temple of Kalabche, in Nubia, but a distinctly Eastern Buddhist group on theTuath-de-danaancross at Old Kilcullen, County Kildare.
CHAPTER XXIV
(Pp.341-355)
A striking instance of the resemblance between the Nubian and Knockmoy sculptures consists in the attire of the principal figures. In both the philibeg, or kilt, is worn; and this peculiarity is reproduced in idols of the Irish pagan god,Phearagh, orFarragh, orBudh, which have been from time to time exhumed. The headdresses and collars also correspond. In Buddhist Indian mythology DevaThotis represented as crucified; in fact, the expectation of salvation through the atonement of a crucified Mediator characterises the whole system of pagan (Sabaic) beliefs as thoroughly as it did Hebraism. It is expressed in one of the names of Ireland, namely,Criach-na-Fuineadhach(meaningthe asylum of the expectants, or the retreat of those looking forward), which was given to that country long before the advent of Christianity.
CHAPTER XXV
(Pp.356-367)
The round towers and crosses at Clonmacnoise, Clondalkin, and elsewhere, abound in sculptured devices of a similar character, there being in all a manifest reference to Buddhist, or Eastern, ceremonial; whilst the representation of a dog (an animal esteemed sacred by the Tuath-de-danaans) on one of the crosses at Clonmacnoise seems to exclude the possibility of its relation to Christianity. But perhaps the most significant feature of these sculptures is the profusion ofsnakeornamentation, pointing to a time when that form of Sabaism known as “serpent-worship” was in the ascendant. The frequency of this emblemism was so obnoxious to the early Christian missionaries, on account of the evident reverence with which it was regarded by the Irish, that St. Patrick thought it advisable to efface it when practicable; and in this sense he may be entitled to the credit of having banished snakes from Ireland.
CHAPTER XXVI
(Pp.368-395)
Reverting to his proper subject of the origin and purpose of the round towers, our author examines the evidence bearing on the date of their erection. The Ulster Annals record the destruction of fifty-seven of these towers by an earthquake inA.D.448, the natural inference being that they must have existed before the fifth century, but how long before is matter of conjecture. Tradition connects them with a personage styled theGoban Saer(Freemason Sage); but this title being the name of a class, not of an individual, and having no settled place in chronology, does not further the solution of the difficulty. A better clue is found in the name of the place whereon was fought the first decisive battle between the Tuath-de-danaan invaders and the Celtic (Firbolg) inhabitants, which gave the supremacyof the island to the former. From the number of commemorative towers erected there by the conquerors, this came to be known asMoytura(in Irish,Moye-tureadh,i.e.“the field of the towers”); and as the date of the second battle, fought centuries later, is approximatelyB.C.600 (p. 449), there is reason for assigning the erection of round towers to a period long preceding that of Christianity. The ascription of these towers to the Tuath-de-danaans is in a degree warranted by the fact that the word “Tuathan-Tower” is a well-known Irish expression, and that there seems to be no other word in the language which conveys the same idea.
CHAPTER XXVII
(Pp.396-411)
The identity of Ireland with theInsula Hyperboreorumis deduced from a description of the latter, copied by Diodorus Siculus from the writings of Hecatæus and from a compendium by Marcianus Herocleotes of the works of Artemidorus. Both Hecatæus and Artemidorus lived before the Christian era, and an allusion in the latter author to certain “round temples,” of which the officiating priests were calledBoreades, that existed in “Juvernia, a British isle, bounded on the north by the ocean called theHyperborean, but on the east by the ocean called theHibernian,” coupled with the fact that (with the exception of those at Brechin and Abernethy) no remains of round temples are found in any of the British Isles save Ireland,[28]goes far to prove the identity in question, also the pre-Christian antiquity of the round towers, together with the existence of an exceptional, and therefore by natural inference animported, civilisation in that island. The latter inference is strengthened by continually-recurring traces of the great proficiency of its inhabitants in the fine, or useful, arts at an era when the adjacent islands were still plunged in barbarism.
CHAPTER XXVIII
(Pp.412-431)
These proofs of an adventitious civilisation bearing the marks, not of gradual growth, but of full development, point to the colonisation of the island by a highly-cultured race, such as were the ancient people ofIran(Persia). The round towers, for instance, could not well have been the work of the Phœnicians, who were a maritime and mercantile race, by no means prone to arts and letters, and in none of whose admitted settlements is any trace of similar buildings to be found. Neither the Firbolgs (or Celtic inhabitants of Ireland), nor the Fomorians, nor the Scythians, Scoto-Milesians, nor Danish invaders, were at all given to the refinements of civilisation, and simply regarded the construction of permanent buildings as unworthy of a race of warriors. Everything, in fact, goes to show that the Tuath-de-danaan settlers alone could have erected these towers, introduced the Boreadan ceremonial, and given to the country of their adoption a name taken from that of their native land. With the Scythian conquest, it became, of course, inevitable that this name (IrinorEirin) should be changed intoScuitteorScotia(the land of theScythians), and that there should have been a partial exodus of the vanquished Tuath-de-danaans—some of whom, settling in what is now Scotland, gave it the name ofIranorEran(which survives inErneorErse), which was afterwards changed intoScoitteorScotia, out of compliment to the Scythian rulers of the adjacent island, with whom its Pictish inhabitants had formed alliance.
CHAPTER XXIX
(Pp.432-444)
As for the unfounded theory,—that Ireland was colonised by Phœnicians arriving from Spain, whose last settlement in the island was established by Heber and Heremon, sonsof Milesius, and descendants ofFeni an fear soid, “the Phœnician wise man,”—it is pointed out that Heber and Heremon (brothers of Amergin, the bard) were in reality the sons ofGallamh, and invaded Ireland at the head of a Scythian, not Phœnician, colony (p. 393). Upon historical evidence, the date of this invasion is fixed atB.C.1002; while it is agreed on all hands that theTuath-de-danaanshad landed about two hundred years before, orB.C.1202, which latter date exactly corresponds with that given by most Oriental authorities for the exodus of the Buddhists from India. About this time, indeed, Ireland seems to have borne the character of an Oriental asylum—a circumstance to which may be attributed the Eastern costumes and aspect of the figures depicted in its ancient sculptures, the Eastern character of traditional religious and ceremonial usages, and the national reverence for the shamrock, corresponding with that shown to the trefoil (ortrisula) in Persia (Iran).
CHAPTER XXX
(Pp.445-474)
The duration of Tuath-de-danaan supremacy may have been some six centuries, dating from the first battle of Moytura, inB.C.1202 (p. 435), to the second battle, in or aboutB.C.600, between the Firbolgs, or Celts (who had been gradually reasserting themselves), and a reinforcement of Tuath-de-danaans, coming this time, not from Persia, but from India, whence they had been expelled by the Brahmins (p. 443). Although this second invasion proved successful, the power of the Tuath-de-danaans was now on the wane, and the height of civilisation to which they had raised the island rapidly declined before the inroads of the Scythians. Their ritual became merged in that of the Druids, and their taste for letters vitiated. Possibly, with a view to arrest this decadence, they began to cultivate intercourse with Greece, the result being a strong reciprocal influence, exercised by the languages of the two countrieson each other, and more especially by Irish upon Greek. A corresponding influence resulted from the migration of discontented Tuath-de-danaans into Scotland. Nor was it confined to language; for certain peculiarities of ancient Irish architecture are found reproduced in Mycenian and Caledonian structures, as, for example, in theTreasury of Atreus(Mycenæ) and theDune of Dornadilla(Scotland); and that religion was not wholly unaffected is proved by the discovery of Irish relics showing that the oracular superstitions of Dodona had their counterpart in Ireland.
CHAPTER XXXI
(Pp.475-497)
The relics of Tuath-de-danaan occupation, which exist in the shape of gigantic crosses, and of sculptured ornamentation in which cross-symbolism is prominent, point to a mystery far more esoteric than that involved in the Christian emblem. The cross had become representative of the numberten, because in Irish the same word,lambh, denoted equally acrossand the humanhand, or the number of fingers on both hands; whilst the “triangle often” (p. 268) embraced “all that was solemn in religion and in thought,” being, in fact, “the index of male and female united,” and the prototype of the ark and pyramid. ThisSabaic, and only intelligible, explanation of these highly figurative sculptures disposes of the theory that they are the product of a Christianity with which they have nothing in common but a shape which is not peculiar to any one religion in any part of the world.
CHAPTER XXXIII
(Pp.498-524)
Serpent-worship is perhaps the most significant form ofSabaism, involving, as it does, the expression of its source. For in the sacred language ofIran, whereof Irish is the leading type, the wordSabh(the root ofSabaism) has threedistinct, yet connected, meanings—(1)Voluptuousness, or theYoni; (2) aSnake, or sinuosity; (3)Death. Through all these runs the central idea of sexual relation, which, as the most elementary part of social life, has been symbolised all over the world in connection with religion. The scriptural reproach, “generation of vipers,” is probably equivalent tooffspring of concupiscence, as will appear from the indignant repudiation of those to whom it was addressed—“We were not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.” The part which the serpent plays in Brahminism is well known. In Mexico a widespread faith called Nagualism had theCulebra, or snake, for one of its principal deities; whilst theGadelglasof the ancient Irish (Gadelians) meant simply thegreen snake-god, from which latter, and not from the verdure of its soil, Ireland may have obtained the designation of theEmeraldIsle. In fact, Sabaism, Ophiolatry, and Gadelianism were one and the same; and, while purporting to be the worship of the serpent, or of the stars (videp. 505), were in reality the worship ofSabhorYoni, the representative of female nature. It was, however, masculinity (Budh) that was typified in the phallic form of those round towers, which the author now proceeds to describe with more minuteness of detail than heretofore. Incidentally, he disposes of the argument in favour of the Christian origin of these towers, which is based upon the assumption that remains of Christian churches are invariably found in their vicinity, by adducing an instance to the contrary (at Giant’s Ring, County Down).[29]
W. H. C.
TOTHE LEARNED OF EUROPETO THE HEADS OF ITS SEVERAL UNIVERSITIESTO THE TEACHERS OF RELIGION AND THE LOVERS OF HISTORYMORE ESPECIALLYTO THE ALIBENISTIC ORDER OF FREEMASONSTO THE FELLOWS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETYTO THE MEMBERS OF THE ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETYTO THE FELLOWS OF THE SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIESTO THE EDITORS OF THE ARCHÆOLOGIA SCOTICATO THE COMMITTEES OF THE SOCIETIES FOR THE PROPAGATION OF THEGOSPEL AND THE DIFFUSION OF USEFUL KNOWLEDGEANDTO THE COURT OF THE HONOURABLE THE EAST INDIA COMPANYTHIS VOLUME IS INSCRIBEDAS A NOVEL EXPOSITION OF LITERARY INQUIRIES IN WHICHTHEY ARE SEVERALLY INTERESTEDAND AS AN INTIMATION OF RESPECT FROMTHE AUTHOR
InFraser’s Magazinefor the month just expired, there has appeared an article headed the “Arcana of Freemasonry,” which will save me the trouble of an introductory dissertation. The style is quaint, but that will be overlooked; its author is evidently a true mason and a good man; and, initiated as he is in all the fundamentals of his fraternity, he will be the more ready to recognise the truth of my disclosures, as well as to admit the originality of the proofs which I adduce. To him, therefore, whoever he is, do I with confidence refer.
“In the spirit of the mighty dead,” says he, “the great ones of the earth, that seem ever and anon to look down through the clouds of this murky atmosphere and to beckon us heavenward, nothing strikes more keenly, in our conviction, than that passion for divine truth which burned unquenchably within them. With what hallowed devotion they worshipped it, with what intense aspirations they loved it, we must remember but too painfully, when we converse with men as they are, and read the writings they applaud.
“Yes—it must be so! The first and noblest object to which the ambition of man can aspire is the discovery and propagation of truth, on which the felicity of all created thinkers absolutely depends; and, fortunately, the glory of its discovery is nothing superior to the joy of its communication. And therefore have the finest and freest souls, that have caught the brightest glimpses of truth’s eternal radiation, ever most earnestly sought to lead their brethren and kindred to the same difficult and solitary height from which they themselves first witnessed the dawnings of the prophetic dayspring.
“How many illustrious names, however venerable, have from time’s eldest records sought out with indefatigable assiduity the relics of divinest Wisdom! How often beneath her charmed inspirations they wandered forth, exulting over the boundless fields of metaphysical and physical science—endeavouring by the things that are manifest to retrace the hidden Divinity—to look through nature up to nature’s God! And if happily they discover some strange and stirring indications of the Almighty’s elaborating hand, or some bright testimony of His vivifying though impalpable Spirit, have they not hastened with glowing hearts, and souls overcharged with adoration, to whisper the mystery in secret, or to proclaim the marvel to the world?
“The history of Freemasonry being in fact the history of the gradual progression of devotion and philosophy in the youth, maturity, and declension of our planet’s millenary circle, is intensely interesting to the philosophic mind, as the ages of the one have a thousand mystic correspondences with the ages of the other. After taking a luminous survey of the advances of human intelligence as revealed in Scripture, it traces the perpetual tradition of divine wisdom among thehierophanticacademies of classic memorial. None understood so well the essential truth of theirtheo-astrological mythologiesand theirsymbolical mysteries. They track every subtle declension of lofty and bright-souled truth into the shadowy circumference of hostile error; and thus, establishing their minds on the deepest foundations of history, they continually build up superstructures of all that is precious in literature or elegant in art.
“In thus eulogising Freemasons, we of course allude to Freemasons initiated into the deep spirit of divine philosophy, and not mere nominal professors. True masons,—those who are madefreeby their free devotion to God’s spiritual service, andacceptedby emulating the self-immolation of their celestial prototype of heaven and earth for just and disciplined worthies,—we would discourse ofthese, and these alone. It would be as unfair to judge of Freemasonry in its hidden sanctuary within the veil, by its irregular members, as to judge of its religious illustration without the veil by merely nominal Christians.
“But for true, or free, or speculative masons. These are the men who, attached to their celestial Saviour with filial enthusiasm incommunicable, and to each other by fraternal sympathies that melt them into beautiful unanimity of immortal emulation, these are the men who feel a more especial and endearing interest in the whole history of mankind. To them, whatever is “wisest, virtuousest, discreetest, best,” in all the records of humanity, hath a kind of kindred familiarity of association unknown to others; for in all true men they recognise their ancestry or their brotherhood, and they watch the broad line of their genealogical descent with the reverent fondness of a lineal and loyal progeny. In their history they love to contemplate the magnificent economy of Providence for the gradual perfectionising of all lapsed intelligences. In this they view every variation of Churches and States with tranquil and unbroken satisfaction, and from it they look forward to the future with that fine, free, and fearless confidence which Christian philosophy alone inspires.
“In the present times, these relations to society have assumed a somewhat deeper and still more thrilling intensity; they know well enough that old age hath come upon the earth, and that the latter day is at hand; and that the prophecies relating to her dissolution and bright regeneration are, ere long, to be accomplished in their fulness.
“They confess, with rejoicing, the vast spread of intellectual light and freedom that now gilds the concluding pages of our planet’s history. They believe that the true and venerable principles of Church and State will be confirmed and illustrated in their breadth and length, and height and depth, by the last and prophetic experience of pious and patriot sages, ere the kindling judgment breaks out upon the astonished world.
“Such is the position of Freemasons in society at present. And when we consider the extent of this chosen band of good and wise men, bound together by the fellowship of indissoluble benevolence, and scattered over every kingdom and republic, we cannot but observe their influences with peculiar scrutiny of attention; for, by keeping fast their own counsel, and preserving mutual good faith, they ever possess a strong, though secret domination of philanthropy over all the affairs of Church and State. In her peaceful and inviolable retirement, Masonry is, as it were, theprimum mobileand mainspring of society,—unseen herself, but urging the whole visible mechanism into harmonious and musical action.
“In the present time, Freemasons cannot but feel that a terrible responsibility is committed to their charge. The ancient interests and ambitions of Churches and States are coming into perpetual and jarring collision with the new. The ebb-tides of bigotry and despotism are clashing with the advancing currents of enthusiasm and dissolute passion. The spray of the whirling eddies already whitens the deep, and the roar of the conflicting breakers is heard far away upon the wind. God saith, ‘I will overturn, overturn, overturn, until He shall come whose right the kingdom is’; and the sea and the waves are roaring upon every shore, and men’s hearts fail them for fear, and for looking on those things which are coming on the earth. To true masons is entrusted the hazardous charge of piloting the vessel athwart the boiling whirlpools. They will save, if they can, earth’s latest age from indecent strife and confusion, and struggle hard against the unfilial and disloyal apostates, that would bring down her grey hairs with sorrow to the grave.”[30]
Here I would willingly close my Introduction; but as it may seem strange that a work which bears upon its title-page the character of “Prize Essay” should not have been published by the Society that have awarded it the prize, I am obliged to open up a statement of facts whichI had rather have concealed; yet, in doing so, I shall take care, now that all vexation has passed over, that no symptoms of asperity shall escape my pen; all the colouring of language I shall equally avoid; nay, even inferences, however obvious, I shall not press into observation, but confine myself strictly to a matter-of-fact detail as to the conduct of the party in the case in question.
In December 1830, the Royal Irish Academy, after many fruitless efforts to obtain information on the subject of the Round Towers, proposed a premium of a gold medal and fifty pounds to the author of an approved Essay, in which all particulars respecting them were expected to be explained. This intimation I never saw. The stipulated time for the composition of treatises—namely, a full twelvemonth—expired, and the several candidates sent in their works. After a perusal of two or three months, the Council agreed upon giving the premium to one of them; but his work being deficient in some of the conditions required,[31]it was furthermore resolved that he should be allowed some additional interval for the supplying of these defects, and this determination they put into practice by the following advertisement:—