1865.] 14:5 [Lesley. 



36. The Ophite theory is considered, by the authors of such books 

 as the "Serpent Symbol," all sufficient to account for the prehistoric 

 religious history of man. This seems to be a most presumptuous sup- 

 position. The theory has to do with no grand event in history, 

 which might be supposed to have made an indelible impression upon 

 the life of mankind; nor with any general idea of the sublime or 

 terrible, germain to worship; nor to any master sentiment of the 

 human heart, — for fear is not so strong as love, nor so instructive as 

 curiosity, nor so inventive as taste. The theory involves a mere 

 classification of one kind of archseologieal facts, requiring the simplest 

 treatment, and barren of all results but one, namely, a certain ad- 

 dition to the mass of evidence, otherwise collected, that some myste- 

 rious arkite intercourse has existence between all the known races of 

 the world. Beyond this, Ophism has no story to tell; and instead of 

 elucidating antiquity, adds to its confused obscurity. But Ophism is 

 one of the great facts of history, notwithstanding; and enters not 

 only largely but naturally into the composition of the arkite theory, 

 which fully unfolds it, suggesting for its existence a new and satis- 

 factory cause, and explaining all its forms and variations perfectly. 



37. Then there is the great archaeological problem of Devil-wor- 

 ship, for so many portions of mankind, the terrors of shamanism, 

 the darker or fearful side of fctischism, all so nearly allied to ser- 

 pent-worship, and all so nearly explainable by reference merely to 

 the limitations of human will and human happiness, but none of 

 them quite so. What shall be done with the unexplained residuum? 

 Archaeology claims it; but which archaeological theory shall take 

 charge of it? Certainly none of these theories of departments, de- 

 partmental theories, — we need the new name, — already alluded to. 

 No. To learn the language of Fear-worship, we must go back to 

 the very beginning ; to some age of weakness, calamity, and fright ; 

 to some irruption of wild beasts, or conflagration, or deluge ; to 

 some event so overwhelming that it could impress no less than 

 all mankind, for a time no less than all the ages, the memory 

 of which would be a simple figure of destruction and salvation 

 combined, the symbol of which would be the intertwined names 

 of God and the Devil. In the mountain and the ship, which 

 rescued mankind from destruction in that event, we have the 

 explanation of the origin of all Phallism and Egg-worship. In 

 the waters which came so near destroying him, we have the expla- 

 nation of the origin of all Ophism and Devil-worship. Both were 

 made ornate in the tasteful idolatry of Greece, scientific on the clear- 



VOL. X. — u 



