According to ancient Persian mythology, there is one supreme essence, invisible and incomprehensible, named "Zerudné Akeréné," which signifies" unlimited time," or "the eternal." From him emanated Ormuzd, the "King of Light," the "First-born of the Eternal One," &c. Now, this "First-born of the Eternal One" is he by whom all things were made, all things came into being through him; he is the Creator.'

A large portion of the Zend-Avesta―the Persian Sacred Book or Bible is filled with prayers to Ormuzd, God's First-Born. The following are samples:

"I address my prayer to Ormuzd, Creator of all things; who always has been, who is, and who will be forever; who is wise and powerful; who made the great arch of heaven, the sun, the moon, stars, winds, clouds, waters, earth, fire, trees, animals and men, whom Zoroaster adored. Zoroaster, who brought to the world knowledge of the law, who knew by natural intelligence, and by the ear, what ought to be done, all that has been, all that is, and all that will be; the science of sciences, the excellent word, by which souls pass the luminous and radiant bridge, separate themselves from the evil regions, and go to light and holy dwellings, full of fragrance. O Creator, I obey thy laws, I think, act, speak, according to thy orders. I separate myself from all sin. I do good works according to my power. I adore thee with purity of thought, word, and action. I pray to Ormuzd, who recompenses good works, who delivers unto the end all those who obey his laws. Grant that I may arrive at paradise, where all is fragrance, light, and happiness."

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According to the religion of the ancient Assyrians, it was Narduk, the Logos, the WORD, "the eldest son of Hea," "the Merciful One," the Life-giver," &c., who created the heavens, the earth, and all that therein is.*

Adonis, the Lord and Saviour, was believed to be the Creator of men, and god of the resurrection of the dead.'

Prometheus, the Crucified Saviour, is the divine forethought, existing before the souls of men, and the creator Hominium."

The writer of "The Gospel according to St. John," has made Christ Jesus co-eternal with God, as well as Creator, in these words: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God." same was in the beginning with God."

Again, in praying to his Father, he makes Jesus say:

"The

"And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.'

1 See Prog. Relig. Ideas, vol. i. p. 259. In the most ancient parts of the Zend-Avesta, Ormuzd is said to have created the world by his WORD. (See Bunsen's Angel-Messiah, p. 104, and Gibbon's Rome, vol. ii. p. 302, Note by Guizot.) In the beginning was the WORD, and the WORD was with God, and the WORD was God." (John, i. 1.)

2 Quoted in Prog. Relig. Ideas, vol. i. p. 267.

3 See Bonwick's Egyptian Belief, p. 404. 4 See Dunlap's Mysteries of Adoni, p. 156. See Ibid. p. 156, and Bulfinch, Age of Fable.

• John, i. 1, 2.
7 John, xvii. 5.

Paul is made to say:

"And he (Christ) is before all things."

Again:

“Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, to-day, and forever."

St. John the Divine, in his "Revelation," has made Christ Jesus say:

"I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end "-"which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty," "3"the first and the last."4

Hindoo scripture also makes Crishna "the first and the last," "the beginning and the end." We read in the "Gecta," where Crishna is reported to have said:

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"I myself never was not." 'Learn that he by whom all things were formed" (meaning himself) "is incorruptible." "I am eternity and noneternity." "I am before all things, and the mighty ruler of the universe." "I am the beginning, the middle and the end of all things."

Arjouan, his disciple, addresses him thus:

"Thou art the Supreme Being, incorruptible, worthy to be known; thou art prime supporter of the universal orb; thou art the never-failing and eternal guardian of religion; thou art from all beginning, and I esteem thee."10 Thou art "the Divine Being, before all other gods."11

Again he says:

"Reverence! Reverence be unto thee, before and behind! Reverence be unto thee on all sides, O thou who art all in all! Infinite in thy power and thy glory! Thou includest all things, wherefore thou art all things."'12

In another Holy Book of the Hindoos, called the "Vishnu Purana," we also read that Vishnu-in the form of Crishna"who descended into the womb of the (virgin) Devaki, and was born as her son" was "without beginning, middle or end."""

Buddha is also Alpha and Omega, without beginning or end, "The Lord," "the Possessor of All," "He who is Omnipotent and Everlastingly to be Contemplated," "the Supreme Being, the Eternal One."14

Lao-kiun, the Chinese virgin-born God, who came upon earth about six hundred years before Jesus, was without beginning. It was said that he had existed from all eternity."

1 Col. i. 17.

2 Hebrews, xiii. 8.

Rev. i. 8, 22, 13.

Rev. i. 17; xii. 13.

Geeta, p. 35. Geeta, p. 36. 7 Lecture ix. p. 80.

Lecture x. p. 83.

Lecture x. p. 85. 10 Lecture ix. p. 91. 11 Lecture x. p. 84.

12 Lecture xi. p. 95.

13 See Vishnu Purana, p. 440.

14 See chapter xii.

1 See Prog. Relig. Ideas, vol. 1. p. 200.

The legends of the Taou-tsze sect in China declare their founder to have existed antecedent to the birth of the elements, in the Great Absolute; that he is the "pure essence of the tëen;" that he is the original ancestor of the prime breath of life; that he gave form to the heavens and the earth, and caused creations and annihilations to succeed each other, in an endless series, during innumerable periods of the world. He himself is made to say:

"I was in existence prior to the manifestation of any corporeal shape; I appeared anterior to the supreme being, or first motion of creation."1

According to the Zend Avesta, Ormuzd, the first-born of the Eternal One, is he'" who is, always has been, and who will be forever."

Zeus was Alpha and Omega. An Orphic line runs thus:

"Zeus is the beginning, Zeus the middle, out of Zeus all things have been made. "

Bacchus was without beginning or end. An inscription on an ancient medal, referring to him, reads thus:

"It is I who leads you; it is I who protects you, and who saves you. I am Alpha and Omega."

Beneath this inscription is a serpent with his tail in his mouth, thus forming a circle, which was an emblem of eternity among the ancients.*

Without enumerating them, we may say that the majority of the virgin-born gods spoken of in Chapter XII. were like Chrisɩ Jesus without beginning or end-and that many of them were considered Creators of all things. This has led M. Dridon to remark (in his Hist. de Dieu), that in early works of art, Christ Jesus is made to take the place of his Father in creation and in similar labors, just as in heathen religions an inferior deity does the work under a superior one.

1 Thornton: Hist. China, vol. i. p. 137. 'Prog. Relig. Ideas, il. p. 267.

Müller's Chips, vol. ii. p. 15.

"C'est moi qui vous conduis, vous et tout ce qui vous regarde. C'est moi, qui vous conserve, ou qui vous sauve. Je suis Alpha et Omega. Il y a au dessous de l'inscription un serpent qui tient sa queue dans sa gueule et dans la cercle qu'il décrit, cest trois lettre

Greques TEE, qui sont le nombre 365. Le serpent, qui est'ordinaire un emblème de l'éternité est ici celui de soleil et de ses revolutions." Beausobre: Hist. de Manichee, Tom. ii. p. 56.

"I say that I am immortal, Dionysus (Bacchus) son of Deus." (Aristophanes, in Myst. of Adoni, pp. 80 and 105.)

CHAPTER XXVII.

THE MIRACLES OF CHRIST JESUS AND THE PRIMITIVE CHRISTIANS.

THE legendary history of Jesus of Nazareth, contained in the books of the New Testament, is full of prodigies and wonders. These alleged prodigies, and the faith which the people seem to have put in such a tissue of falsehoods, indicate the prevalent disposition of the people to believe in everything, and it was among such a class that Christianity was propagated. All leaders of religion had the reputation of having performed miracles; the biographrers of Jesus, therefore, not wishing their Master to be outdone, have made him also a wonder-worker, and a performer of miracles; without them Christianity could not prosper. Miracles were needed in those days, on all special occasions. "There is not a single historian of antiquity, whether Greek or Latin, who has not recorded oracles, prodigies, prophecies, and miracles, on the occasion of some memorable events, or revolutions of states and kingdoms. Many of these are attested in the gravest manner by the gravest writers, and were firmly believed at the time by the people.'

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Hindoo sacred books represent Crishna, their Saviour and Redeemer, as in constant strife against the evil spirit. He surmounts extraordinary dangers; strews his way with miracles; raising the dead, healing the sick, restoring the maimed, the deaf and the blind; everywhere supporting the weak against the strong, the oppressed against the powerful. The people crowded his way and adored him as a Gon, and these miracles were the evidences of his divinity for centuries before the time of Jesus.

The learned Thomas Maurice, speaking of Crishna, tells us that he passed his innocent hours at the home of his foster-father, in rural diversions, his divine origin not being suspected, until repeated miracles soon discovered his celestial origin; and Sir William Jones speaks of his raising the dead, and saving multitudes by his

1 Dr. Conyers Middleton: Free Enquiry, p. 177.

2 Indian Antiquities, vol. iil. p. 46,

miraculous powers.' To enumerate the miracles of Crishna would be useless and tedious; we shall therefore mention but a few, of which the Hindoo sacred books are teeming.

When Crishna was born, his life was sought by the reigning monarch, Kansa, who had the infant Saviour and his father and mother locked in a dungeon, guarded, and barred by seven iron doors. While in this dungeon the father heard a secret voice distinctly utter these words: "Son of Yadu, take up this child and carry it to Gokool, to the house of Nanda." Vasudeva, struck with astonishment, answered: "How shall I obey this injunction, thus vigilantly guarded and barred by seven iron doors that prohibit all egress?" The unknown voice replied: "The doors shall open of themselves to let thee pass, and behold, I have caused a deep slumber to fall upon thy guards, which shall continue till thy journey be accomplished." Vasudeva immediately felt his chains miraculously loosened, and, taking up the child in his arms, hurried with it through all the doors, the guards being buried in profound sleep. When he came to the river Yumna, which he was obliged to cross to get to Gokool, the waters immediately rose up to kiss. the child's feet, and then respectfully retired on each side to make way for its transportation, so that Vasudeva passed dry-shod to the opposite shore.'

When Crishna came to man's estate, one of his first miracles was the cure of a leper.

A passionate Brahman, having received a slight insult from a certain Rajah, on going out of his doors, uttered this curse: "That he should, from head to foot, be covered with boils and leprosy ;" which being fulfilled in an instant upon the unfortunate king, he prayed to Crishna to deliver him from his evil. At first, Crishna did not heed his request, but finally he appeared to him, asking what his request was? He replied, "To be freed from my distemper." The Saviour then cured him of his distemper."

Crishna was one day walking with his disciples, when "they met a poor cripple or lame woman, having a vessel filled with spices, sweet-scented oils, sandal-wood, saffron, civet and other perfumes. Crishna making a halt, she made a certain sign with her finger on his forehead, casting the rest upon his head. Crishna asking her what it was she would request of him, the woman replied, nothing but the use of my limbs. Crishna, then, setting his foot upon hers, and taking her by the hand, raised her from the ground, and not

1 Asiatic Researches, vol. i. p. 237.

2 Hist. Hindostan, vol. ii. p. 331.

Ibid. p. 319.