326 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. XV. 



and sTTOTTTai, ' inspectors.' The manner of initiation 

 was thus : — the candidates, being crowned with 

 myrtle, had admittance by night into a place 

 called [xixrrixog (rrixoS) ' the mystical temple,' which 

 was an edifice so vast and capacious that the most 

 ample theatre did scarce exceed it. At their en- 

 trance they purified themselves by washing their 

 hands in holy water ; and, at the same time, were 

 admonished to present themselves with minds pure 

 and undefiled, without which the external clean- 

 ness of the body would by no means be accepted. 

 After this the holy mysteries were read to them 

 out of a book called Trsrpcojaa ; which word is de- 

 rived from TTsrpa, ' a stone,' because the book con- 

 sisted of two stones fitly cemented together. Then 

 the priest who initiated them, called ispo(pavTr}g^ 

 proposed certain questions, as whether they were 

 fasting, &c. ; to which they returned answers in a 

 set form.* This done, strange and amazing objects 

 presented themselves. Sometimes the place they 

 were in seemed to shake round them ; sometimes it 

 appeared bright and resplendent with light and ra- 

 diant fire, and then again was covered with black 

 darkness. Sometimes thunder and lightning, some- 

 times frightfid noises and bellowings, sometimes 

 terrible apparitions astonished the trembling spec- 

 tators. The being present at these sights was 

 called auro-^ia, * intuition.' After this they were 

 dismissed with these words, * >coy^, o/x7ra^/"t 



* " See Mcursius's treatise on this festival." 



+ Some have supposed these words to answer to the " Procul, O 

 procul, este piafam," and to luive that meaning in Sanscrit. If so, they 

 were misapplied. 



