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Vallancey - Collectanea de Rebus Hibernicis, Volume 1, Issue 7, Page 10

Vallancey - Collectanea de Rebus Hibernicis, Volume 1, Issue 7, Page 10
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periodical Publisher
The Antiquarian Society, 1782
periodical Editor
Vallancey, Charles
periodical Title
Vallancey - Collectanea de Rebus Hibernicis
volume Number
1
issue Content
176 TRUIDISM REVIVED.DRUIDISM REVIVED. 77Ammon had a rude fione, whereon was drawflfpiral line, the fymbol of the Deity. And thecufiom among the Greeks and Romans of furnifli.-lag the meffenger of the Gods, Mercury, with acaduceus of twified ferpents, as an emblem of hisdivine commiffion, feems to be derived from thisancient fymbol.No. 5 .Is alfo found in the turnulus at New-Grangeand, as it bears a great relemblancc to the cha-raer or fymbol ufed by the Egyptians to reprefenttheir goddefs Ifis, when confidered as the earth orpaflive principle of nature, it is very probable, thatby the druids it was taken in the lame fenfe. TheEgyptians in their myfieries maintained, that everything owed its exifience to two principles,, the oneactive and the other paffive; the active principlethey underfiood to be fire, which vivifles andnourifhes the produEtions of nature (y), and thepaflive the earth, which brings them forth, as thegreat mother. The firfi they called Apis or Ofiris,or the male principle, and the fecond Ifis, or thefemale principle. By a Conjun ion of thefe, afterthe manner of animal procreation, not only theEgyptians but the Tiaracians, Samothracjans, Phc-nicians, Carthaginians and Celtes (z) believed everyprodu lion was brought forth and nouriihed.Whence Hefiod relates, that gods and men arethe(y) Warburt .c D1v L gat on. I auiIeys My hoioof the Ancients. Herodc,tuc.(z) H ffoire des Celzes, tow. a. liv. . chap. (;.the iffue of the marriage of heaven and earth (a).The druids diPtinguilbed the a&ive principle orfire by the name of tis, dis, or teut and teutates,that is, the He or malculine principle, who by itaElion on the earth, whom they confidered theMother of Nature, caufes it to produce the feveralfpecies of animals and vegetables. The earth there-fore was the paflive principle, which in this cafethey frequently called ops or opis, from the Celticop to cry out, from whence opez Iz a crier, alludingto the cries of a mother in labors: ; the earth beingfuppofed to labour, in bringing forth her variousprodwf.uions, as a woman in child-birth (b); whencewe may reafonably conclude, that the EgyptianOfiris, the Celtic Dis, Tis or Teut were the fame,and fignified the univerfal fpirit or a&ive principle,which the ancients underftood to be fire; al.fo theEgyptian Ifis, the Greek Ceres, and the Ce1tic Opswere of the fame import, and reprefented the earthor nature in general. The chara er therefore weare now fpeaking of, as it bears fo great a refem-blance to thofe in the Bembine tables reprefentingthe earth or nature, undoubtedly among the druidswas of the fame fignification. It feems alfo tchave been retained by the ancient Irifh, long aftertheir converfion to Chriftianity, in the form ofNo. 6, to reprefent Jefus Chrift the Saviour of theWorld; in which fenfe it fiands on all the Irifh coins.VOL.11. N No.( ) Deoriim genus venerandurn (MufR) inlprinhis celebrantcarihinibus, qu s ab cxordio tellus et latu i c lutn genuerunt, quinque ex his prognati funt dii datores bonoruni.HeImod Theog. p. 44(b) Rhea latinis Ops. Aufon. Idyll. 12. p. 14. NanOps, terra eli. Servius ad JEneid, I. z5.
issue Number
7
page Number
10
periodical Author
[various]
issue Publication Date
2006-01-01T00:00:00
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Vallancey - Collectanea de Rebus Hibernicis, Volume 1, Issue 7

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