works," he did them while no one was looking, which reminds us of the séances of the present day, which require darkness as an essential condition before the spirits can be induced to manifest themselves. The only persons to whom he appears to have paid any attention, with a view to delivering his message, and helping them to salvation, were a select few-his disciples, Mary Magdalen, one of the two thieves who are said to have been hung with him, and a few women who followed him about and "ministered unto him of their substance."

The condition on which a place in heaven might be obtained was apparently very simple-faith; belief in him or on his name. But, when we come to look into this, we find that it was not dependent on the free-will of the individual, but on the father, Yahuh: "All which the father giveth me shall come unto me" (John vi. 37); “No man cometh to me except the father who sent me draw him" (44). "For this cause have I said unto you that no man can come unto me except it be given unto him of the father" (65). So that the "mighty and wonderful works" might as well have not been performed at all, and Jesus might have been saved all the inconvenience and suffering reputed to him. All that Yahuh had to do, if he really wished to save his favourite people, was to "draw" them. But it is to be suspected that his wish to save them was not so strong as was represented, for we are told in John (xii. 39-41) that "they could not believe, because Isaiah said [which was untrue] he hath blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts that they should not see with their eyes nor understand with their hearts, and be converted, and I should heal them. These things said Isaiah because he saw his glory, and he spake of him." Here we see that the Jews were unable to believe because the "father" did not draw them; then they could not believe because he would not permit them! But the above "prophecy " of Isaiah is a fictitious one; the "Prophet" is alluding to events then taking place, and the "glory" spoken of is that of Yahuh, the sun-god, though a deliberate attempt is made by the writer of this Gospel to perpetuate a fraud by making believe that it was Jesus who

was meant.

If we turn to the "fathers of the Church," we find nothing that would indicate the real occurrence of the events recorded

of him. If we go to the very sepulchre of Jesus—¿.e., that which is shown as such-it is only to discover that he was never there. If we go to history, we find no trace of him worth mentioning. History knows nothing of the "Star of Bethlehem," nor of the suspension of the order of the universe, etc. The only prophecies upon which Christians relied to support the cause of their Messiah are found on examination to be fictitious; and there is not a scrap of evidence that the miracles attributed to him were ever performed; but we have records of similar performances by previous messiahs.

The Gospel narratives we find to be unsubstantiated fables, without dates and without names. Places are mentioned that never existed, such as Chorazin and Bethsaida. If we visit the East, we are shown the spot where he was crucified, the fragments of the true cross, which, if all were put together, would build a ship; the nails with which he was attached, though it was the Roman custom to crucify with cords; the tomb in which he was laid; and the coat which he wore— three of which are in existence, each one being the only true one! But so are shown the chains by which Prometheus was bound to the rocks; the footprints of Hercules on the Scythian rock, and his tomb and bones at Cadiz; the tombs of Bacchus in Greece, of Apollo at Delphi, Achilles at Dodona, Esculapius in Arcadia, Deucalion (he who was saved from the deluge) at Athens, of Osiris in Egypt, and of Jonah (of whale renown) at Nibi-Yunas.

The ideal image which Christians have for nearly 2,000 years worshipped under the name of Jesus has really no authentic counterpart in history. The so-called Lives of Christ, or biographies of Jesus, are simply works of fiction, written by advocates of the religious system of which he is the figure-head; but these authors know no more about him than we do, and have built up their narratives from imagination.

66

The history of the Christian Messiah " can be followed step by step in the Vedic Hymns"; where, also, can be found the development which changes the sun from a mere luminary into a Creator," "Preserver," "Ruler," 66 Rewarder of the world," etc. "The first step is the light which meets us on awakening in the morning, and which seems to give new life to man and nature-'The giver of

daily life." Then, by a bolder step, he becomes "The giver of light and life" in general; he who brings light and life to-day is the same who brought light and life on the first of days-"The Creator"; and if a Creator, soon a "Ruler of the world." And so he becomes gradually a "Defender," "Kind Protector," by driving away the dreaded darkness and fertilizing the earth; and omniscient, for his vigilant eye sees everything-the works of the evildoer, etc. The history of the Messiah is simply the history of the messiahs before him, and of the SUN-the real saviour of mankind— of which they were the personifications. Each sign of the zodiac had its god; and each of the decans, of which each sign had three, had its god also. The sun was the "Day star on high," the "Lion of Juda," when in the sign Leo in July, who has thrown the zodiacal Archer Sagittarius into the sea-i.e., the horizon. Miriam sang (Ex. xv. 21): "Sing ye to the Lord [the sun], for he hath triumphed gloriouslythe horse and his rider [Sagittarius] hath he thrown into the sea." The horse and rider represented evil as opposed to good. Sagittarius was the "Centaur" sign-half horse, half man-armed with bow and arrow, the sign of November -cold and darkness. The three decans were represented by the three children in Daniel who were thrown into a fiery furnace the summer sign Cancer. The fourth child that Daniel saw was the sun. The name Daniel is derived from Domel or Dan-el = the sun-god; he was cast into the lions' pit or den-i.e., the sign of the Lion below the horizon.

The fixed stars were spoken of as being the "Host of Heaven." These formed the occult basis of all the religions of Paganism. The dramatic allegory of the sun and the planetary system is to be found in the tragedy of schylus (written 500 years B.C.), in which the crucifixion of Prometheus is included.

The birthday of Jesus, of Buddha, Mithras, Osiris, Horus, Hercules, Bacchus, Adonis, and other sun-gods, was the birthday of the new-born sun-the great god SOL. On this day was celebrated by all the nations of the earth the accouchement of the "Queen of Heaven." At midnight on December 24th and 25th, when the sun had fully entered the winter solstice, the sign of virgo (the virgin) was rising on the eastern horizon, and the Persian magicians drew the horoscope of the new year. The symbol was

THE MYTHOS OF JESUS.

205

represented first by ears of corn, and, second, by a woman with a new-born male child in her arms. "The division of the first decan of virgo represents a beautiful virgin with flowing hair, sitting in a chair with two ears of corn in her hand, and suckling an infant called Iesus." As the virgin of the zodiac was immaculate, so were the Christian virgin and all the other virgin mothers. As the solar virgin mother conceived without carnal intercourse and still remained a virgin, so did the Christian virgin mother. As the pagan virgin mothers were represented with the lotus, lily, or ears of corn in one hand and the child in the other, so do we see the Catholic virgin mothers similarly represented; and festivals of the corn-goddess Ceres and of the wine-god Bacchus are to this day celebrated in some Catholic countries, notably in Switzerland. In the Vedic Hymns Eos, the dawn, called "the mother of the gods," is said to have given birth to the sun; and this explains how it is that the virgin mother is frequently represented as the dawn and the dark earth or night.

The sun and all the solar deities rise from the east, which fact gave origin to the old custom of praying towards the east; and the practice is still kept up in the English Church; but, though formerly practised in the Catholic Church, it has been discarded since the Reformation.

The star which informs the magicians and shepherds is the bright morning star which rose immediately before the sign virgo was entered. And such expressions as peace, goodwill, joy, "To him all angels cry aloud, the heavens, and all the powers [planetary gods] therein "; " Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill towards men," are all of pagan origin. In the "Vishnu Purana," at the birth of Krishna, we find: "The quarters of the horizon are irradiate with joy, as if moonlight was diffused over the whole earth," and "the spirits and nymphs of heaven dance and sing." At the birth of Buddha "caressing breezes blow, and a marvellous light is produced." In the Fo-SenKing of China: "For the Lord and Saviour is born to give joy and peace to men and Devas, to shed light in dark places, and to give sight to the blind." The offering of gold, frankincense, and myrrh to the infant Christian Saviour, and

* C. F. Volney, Ruins.

the visit of the magician sun-worshippers, are simply repetitions of the story of how these astrologer priests used to make an annual visit at early dawn on December 25th to the new-born sun. "They started to salute their sun-god long before the rising, and, having ascended a high mountain, waited anxiously for the birth, facing the east, hailing his first rays with gold, frankincense, and myrrh, accompanied by prayer."* He was greeted by the shepherds with "Hail orient conqueror of gloomy night," and "Will the powers of darkness be conquered by the god of light ?"

As all the sun-gods and saviours were born in caves, so was Jesus. The cave was the stable of Augias (Cancer)— the first faint arch of light-the beautiful eastern blue of heaven, which is seen in the east. In this arch or cave the infant is nourished until he reaches his full strength—when the day is fully come. When the child is born a halo of serene light encircles the cradle-i.e., the sun appears at early dawn in all his splendour.

Seeking the destruction of the infant deities is seen in the imaginary attempts to destroy the sun-saviour when born, the powers of darkness having failed to prevent the birth. Herod is the counterpart of Kansa, the dark and wicked night; but he loses his power when the young prince of glory, "the Invincible," is born. The sun scatters darkness, and so it was said the child was to be the destroyer of the reigning monarch, or his parent, night; and the magicians warned the latter of the doom which would overtake him. The newly-born babe is therefore ordered to be put to death by the sword, or exposed on the hill-side, as the sun seems to rest on the earth (Ida) at its rising. In oriental mythology the destroying principle is generally represented as a serpent or dragon; and "the position of the sphere on Christmas Day shows the serpent all but touching, and certainly aiming at, the woman "-i.e., the figure of the constellation Virgo. Here we have the origin of the story of the snake sent to kill Hercules, and of Typhon, who sought the life of the infant Horus; and of Orion, who besets the virgin mother Astrea; and of Latona, the mother of Apollo, when pursued by the monster; and, lastly, of the Virgin Mary, with her babe beset by Herod. "But, like Hercules,

* M. Dupuis, Origin of all Religious Worship.