nature of fire than that exhibited in the chacra, with which they have armed their god Veeshnu, and with which he destroys the malignant Affoors. It is a circular mass of fire, which, inftinct with life, like the thunderbolt of the Grecian Jove, when hurled from the hand of that deity, traverses the illimitable void, and exterminates his enemies wherefoever concealed.*

The ancient mysteries generally abounded with allufions to fubjects of a physical kind. The operations of nature in her most hidden. receffes, particularly in forming ores, and the precious gems that lie hidden in the bofom of the earth, and in the maturing of which they thought the fun had a confiderable influence, were among the favourite fubjects of their philofophical investigations. The Perfians, in particular, who were THE ANCESTORS of the Indians, must have been well acquainted with metals; for, it is a circumstance not a little curious, and very much in favour of the hypothefis that affigns to Oriental chemistry a very high antiquity, that those learned Afiatics, in their myfterious rites, allotted

* Geeta, p. 150.

to

to the feven terreftrial metals the very fame names by which they denominated the seven planets, and the fame hieroglyphic characters at this day equally distinguish both.

It has been obferved in a former volume of this work, that, by the fubterraneous cave of Mithra, they meant to represent the mundane system; and that, in pursuance of this idea, they erected in that cave a high ladder, on the afcent of which were feven different gates, according with the number of the planets. The first gate was of lead, which was intended to mark the flow motion of the planet SATURN; the fecond gate was composed of tin, by which they fhadowed out the brilliancy and softness of VENUS; the third gate was of brass, which they imagined a just emblem of the folidity and durability of JUPITER; the fourth gate was of iron, by which MERCURY was typified, because he is suited, like iron, to all forts of labours; the fifth gate confifted of a mixed mass, of which the heterogeneous compofition, variableness, and irregularity, rendered it the fit emblem of MARS; the fixth gate was of filver, exhibiting an apt fimilitude of the mild radiance of the SILVER EMPRESS OF THE NIGHT; and the feventh

feventh was of gold, a proper emblem of the SUN, the one being the king of metals, and the other being the fovereign of the sky.* We have alfo obferved, that, on the lofty concave dome of this fplendid cave, the zodiacal afterifms were defignated; and round their walls many aftronomical and geometrical fymbols were arranged in the most perfect fymmetry, and placed at certain distances, which fhadowed out the elements and climates of the world.+

The progreffive advances of the candidate for initiation through the dreary and winding receffes of this fubterraneous temple, immani magnitudine, had all a phyfical reference blended with myftic allufions to that theology, which was almost entirely founded on phyfics. The whole was a fublime allegory; a fpiritual fort of chemistry. The paffage of the body through the respective mundane elements was only typical of the foul's progrefs through various ftages of purification, as gold is tried in the furnace of the refiner. The utmost exertion of chemical fcience,

* Celfus apud Origo centra Celfum, lib. iv.

+ Porphyry de Antro Nympharum, p. 256, edit. 1655.

known

known to them, must have been employed alternately to terrify and transport the bewildered afpirant. For want of better, I adopt the fame, words which I used before, when defcribing these mysteries.

After having proceeded for fome time through these gloomy adyta, the ground fuddenly be¬ gan to rock beneath his feet; the whole temple trembled; and strange and dreadful voices were heard through the midnight filence. To these fucceeded other louder and more terrific noifes refembling thunder; while quick and vivid flashes of lightning darted through the cavern, difplaying to his view many ghaftly fights and hideous fpectres.* At length, the profounder mysteries commenced; and now, arrived on the verge of death and initiation, every thing wears a dreadful aspect; it is all horror, trembling, and astonishment. An icy chillinefs feizes his limbs; a copious dew, like the damp of real death, bathes his temples; he ftaggers, and his faculties begin to fail; when the fcene is of a fudden changed, and

* Hence it would appear, they well knew the doctrine of New, ton, that " fulphureous teams, abounding in the bowels of the earth, ferment with minerals, and fometimes take fire with fudden corrufcation and dreadful explosion." — Newton's Optics.

the

the doors of the interior and fplendidly illumined temple are thrown wide open. A miraculous and divine light difclofes itself; and shining plains and flowery meadows open on all hands before him. Acceffi confinium mortis, fays Apuleius, et calcato Proferpinæ limine, per omnia vectus ELEMENTA remeavi; nocte medio vidi SOLEM candido CORUSCANTEM lumine: Arrived at the bourn of mortality, after having trod the gloomy threshold of Proferpine, I paffed rapidly through all the furrounding elements; and faw the sun at midnight shining with MERIDIAN SPLENDOR.* Thefe fucceffive thunders and corrufcations; this blaze of glory, scarcely tolerable by the vifual organ; gay fmiling plains, and flowery meadows, arrayed in all the vivid colouring of nature; were the effect of the operations of chemistry in the most refined branches of the fcience, labouring to impref, with alternate effect, on the mind of the enthufiaftic devotee, the gloomy fuperftitious horrors, and fplendid celestial visions, fo well calculated to keep alive the ardour of the Sabian devotion.

Apuleii Metamorphofs, lib. ii. v. 1. p. 273; and Indian Antiquities, vol. ii. p. 326..

The