“The serpent, separate or in combination with the circle, egg, or globe, has been a predominant symbol among many primitive nations. It prevailed in Egypt, Greece, and Assyria, and entered widely into the superstitions of the Celts, the Hindoos, and the Chinese. It even penetrated into America; and was conspicuous in the mythology of the ancient Mexicans, among whom its significance does not seem to have differed materially from that which it possessed in the old world. The fact that the ancient Celts, and perhaps other nations of the old continent, erected sacred structures in the form of the serpent, is one of high interest Of this description was the great temple of Abury, in England, in many respects the most imposing ancient monument of the British islands.”*
A celebrated example of the egg and serpent symbol is found in Adams County, Ohio, United States of America. It is an enduring witness to the fact that knowledge of the God-Mystery existed in North America at an early period. “It is situated on a high spur of land, which rises a hundred and fifty feet above Brush Creek. ‘Conforming to the curve of the hill, and occupying its very summit, is the serpent, its head resting near the point, and its body winding back for seven hundred feet, in graceful undulations, terminating in a triple coil at the tail. The entire length, if ex- tended, would be not less than one thousand feet. The work is clearly and boldly defined, the embankment being upwards of five feet in height, by thirty feet base at the centre of the body, but diminishing some-what toward the head and tail. The neck of the serpent is stretched out, and slightly curved, and its mouth is opened wide, as if in the act of swallowing or ejecting an oval figure, which rests partially within the distended jaws. This oval is formed by an embankment of earth, without any perceptible opening, four feet in height, and is perfectly regular in outline, its trans- verse and conjugate diameters being one hundred and sixty, and eighty feet respectively.’ When, why, or by whom these remarkable works were erected, as yet we know not. The present Indians, though they look upon them with reverence, can throw no light upon their origin.”
Sir John Lubbock, Pre-Historic Times. Edition 1890. Pages 276-277.
Sir Thomas Browne on Man’s Place in Nature
“We are onely that amphibious piece between a corporal and spiritual Essence, that middle form that links those two together, and makes good the Method of God and Nature, that jumps not from extreams, but unites the incompatible distances by some middle and participating natures. That we are the breath and similitude of God, it is indisputable, and upon record of Holy Scripture; but to call ourselves a Microcosm, or little World, I thought it only a pleasant trope of Rhetorick, till my neer judgement and second thoughts told me there was a real truth therein. Continue reading “Sir Thomas Browne on Man’s Place in Nature”
Plato on Man’s Place in Nature
“But with respect to the most principal and excellent species of the soul, we should conceive as follows: that divinity assigned this to each of us as a daemon; and that it resides in the very summit of the body, elevating us from earth to an alliance with the heavens ; as we are not terrestial plants, but blossoms of heaven. And this indeed is most truly asserted. For from whence the first generation of the soul arose, from thence a divine nature being suspended from our head and root, directs and governs the whole of our corporeal frame. Continue reading “Plato on Man’s Place in Nature”
Justin Martyr meets a Master
Justin Martyr lived at Neapolis during the reign of Marcus Aurelius, and suffered death for the faith of his Fathers the Philosophers, about 165 A.D, From youth he sought ardently for knowledge of the Truth, and in his own writings gives an account of his receiving the ”Salutation of the Sages,” He states that his investigation into the various philosophies of the day resulted in conviction that he would find the true path to God through Platonism, He therefore gave himself up to the rigorous mental discipline and meditation which that school enjoined upon its neophytes. During this period, ”Wishing to be filled with quietness and to shun the paths of men, I used to walk by myself in a field near the sea. One day an old man of gentle and venerable appearance followed me at a little distance. I stopped and turning round fixed my eyes keenly upon him.